The Prophecy of Dragons
by WildCherryBomb
Summary: Two Children. Two Worlds. One Destiny. Reunited twins Hiccup and Clarisse must band together with their newfound powers to defeat the greatest evil known to the world. "Alone they are strong, but together they will hold a power beyond all imagination. They will need you. And we all need them." [three years after HTTYD, and two years before HTTYD2] [outfits the same as in sequel.]
1. Prologue

**THE PROPHECY OF DRAGONS**

**Part 1: The Twins**

**Prologue**

_When a child is born and its eyes take in the world for the first time, it seems as if all in the world is pure and untainted by chaos. But corruption and evil is never truly destroyed, defeated perhaps once every few centuries, but never gone forever. _

_Our story begins on the night of an equinox, when day and night are at an impasse. The sea seemed to calm itself and the winds seemed to settle, a ship known by The Amity was still on the waters of the ocean. Aboard the fine vessel, a man and a woman were given their most precious gifts, two children. The children boar the same face, twins, a boy and a girl. Each child had the same choppy brown hair, same sense of curiosity and wonder in their eyes, though they were the same color, their eyes were different. The boy's eyes shone like sunlight through the green trees in the summer. The eyes of the baby girl were just as beautiful and alluring; they were a darker green like the forest at midnight. Light and dark, night and day. A witch by the name of Tia Marina was aboard The Amity as well, the docile woman sensed the greatness the children would accomplish. So as a gift, a blessing upon the newborn infants. To mark their future filled with greatness and pride, she bestowed upon them two amulets, a matching set. An iron sun pendant with a mystic amber stone in the center for the young lad, to represent strength and bravery even in his darkest hour. The infant girl was given a crescent moon, also iron, but with a blue moon-stone to remind those who have lost their way, that there is always hope. Light within darkness, hope within evil. The husband and wife were never happier now that their family was complete. Unknowingly, a horrible storm was unleashed upon the ship, crushing the sliver of peace given to the couple and their children. The ship lurched back and forth and the mother held her newborns, as if they would be ripped from her arms any moment. The father was on the upper deck trying to escape the typhoon and protect his new family. The sound of maniacal laughter echoed throughout the storm clouds, confusing the sailors and angering the father. He knew that laughter, and he wouldn't let this witch near his loved ones. The malevolent shadow of laughing faded and dissipated until the shadow was face to face with the mother and her children. She gazed upon the witch with horror as she smiled demonically, her eyes fell to the baby girl, and she laughed again. The mother took the children to the main deck, hoping they would be safer there then bellow deck with the shadow of the witch. She took the small boy and hid him in her quarters, it was the girl the witch was after. She was seeking a new host, and infants are the easiest to take hold of. The mother ran past crew-men and sailors, clutching the girl for dear life, but she was stopped by the shadowy figure of the sorceress. Her expression was no longer devilishly amused, but smoldering with pure fury._

_"You will not have my daughter Laufeia!" the mother cried at the witch. The one named Laufeia only laughed in reply, as she lifted her hand, ripping the infant from its mother's grasp. The woman hit the deck with a thud, true fear shown in her motherly green eyes as Laufeia held her only daughter. _

_"Foolish Valliharma, your child will be my host forever" Laufeia laughed malevolently. As soon as she laughed with wicked pride, the blade of a dagger pierced her chest. She was shocked for only a moment, until her surprise turned to anger as she faced the father who had defended his wife and daughter. _

_"You want her?" Laufeia spat at the girl's parents. She glanced in the direction of the endless miles of open ocean. "Then go get her!" the witch threw the baby overboard, its cries drowned out by the deadly icy waters it was claimed by. Its parents screamed in horror as their only daughter was lost instantly. Laufeia laughed demonically and dispersed into a cloud of black smoke. Once again the seas were calm; the storm vanished as quickly as it had come. But only one sound was heard in the stillness, the sound of the mother's sobs and she and her husband wept for their lost daughter. Valliharma held her infant son with grief and sorrow, mumbling and muttering to herself about how she hadn't even gotten the chance to _name_ her only daughter. Her husband could only add minimal comfort as he grieved with her, silently swearing vengeance on the witch Laufeia._

_The midnight moon had risen above the sea, The Amity nowhere in sight. All that could be seen on the still ocean was the small body of a baby, floating in the icy water. someone, or something, had been watching the baby float along. Its scaly head rose above the ocean water to get a closer look. The source of the spying was a pretty common creature, a dragon. A Wailing Banshee dragon to be exact, they are quite rare in the waters of this ocean. A dragon that possesses the metamorphic ability to grow legs, wings, and/or fins. Their rainbow colored scales shimmer in the light like that of a fish, and their horse's heads are lined with gills and tentacle arms to draw in prey, along with three rows of sharp teeth to chomp down on unsuspecting fish. The young dragon had been watching the baby that had floated into its territory; it was freezing, barley alive, and very near death. Though the dragon was not interested in the taste of human baby, it thought it best to kill the dying baby, end its misery and send it somewhere better. The Banshee was about to make the killing move, when the moon seemed to glow brighter than normal. The next thing the youngling saw took his breath, well he was a water dragon so he doesn't really breathe air, whatever you get it, he was surprised. A woman appeared from the moonlight out of nowhere. She was truly beautiful, her chocolate hair shone in the light of the night, a midnight blue gown patterned with stars that seemed to move like the very night sky they depicted, her eyes were calm and silver like the moon she ruled over. Though the dragon had never met her, he knew her instantly._

_"Luna" he said in dragon-tongue. The woman only nodded once before kneeling beside the baby girl, clear concern in her silver eyes. Luna was the queen of the moon and of the night, she ruled along-side her brother and his wife for many years before she vanished. Without the light of the moon and stars, darkness overcame the sun and sky, and they had to sacrifice their power and their lives to stop the chaos from rising. Yet that same queen knelt before the Banshee now. _

_"Thought I hesitate to ask this of you dragon, this child needs your blood" Luna explained with a gentle voice that was laced with fear and worry. The dragon was slightly taken aback; a dragon never gave its own blood, especially to a human. If a human's blood was mixed with dragon's blood, the human would become a Draki. The Draki were mythic beings who were said to have the abilities of a dragon. The speed of a Night Fury, the strength of a Monstrous Nightmare, the agility of a Deadly Nadder, and even the ability to control fire! the Banshee hesitated, but the pleading look in his queen's eyes made him consider, if he gave this baby his blood, he would be bonded with it until death, a bond deeper than family, to watch over and protect it with his life. And he didn't want that much responsibility; he was only a few months old. But if he didn't bond with this baby, it would die, and all it would have experienced would have been pain and then death. The dragon had made his choice. He nodded once and Luna smiled with relief. She pulled a small silver dagger from her dress, and the Banshee winced as she made a small cut in his neck. His dragon's blood dripped into the child's still lips, and the color slowly returned to her face. The baby coughed faintly and then began to cry for its mother that was nowhere. Luna only laughed with tears of joy in her eyes. She stroked the Banshee's neck scales and healed the small cut._

_"Thank you, this was not her destiny, but one day it will come, and I need you to watch over her, protect her, guide her" Luna explained. The dragon only nodded with determination in his ocean green dragon eyes. His queen smiled and then faded into the moonlight in which she came from. The dragon took another look at the now living child; her eyes flickered to a crystal-like state with dark vertical slits for pupils. The eyes of a dragon. She blinked at him and they changed back to human forest green. The Wailing Banshee blinked at the baby girl and then lifted it into his tentacle whiskers, carefully holding her so she wouldn't touch the freezing waters. The dragon started swimming in the direction of the nearest island, he sure as Helheim couldn't look after a human baby on his own, and his pod wouldn't take her since she can't breathe underwater, so maybe he could find her a human family._

_"Careful with those, they're meant to last until spring!" the captain called to his crew. He gazed proudly over his ship, making sure they had stocked up on enough supplies from this uninhabited island. _

_"Larson my dear husband, you must not worry so much" said the captain's wife and trusted first mate. Captain Larson Merrill of the Nightmare Moon was the most famous pirate in the seas, his stunning gypsy wife Marie Dalma stood by his side as he managed the preparations for setting sail soon. _

_"Marie my lovely wife, you are too calm" he said as his wife's smile quickly faded into a tearful grimace. He could only comfort her as she cried. The source of her grief was their previous loss, it had been only days ago that his wife was expecting their first child, but a horrid storm had nearly drowned the ship, but they lost the baby in the process of saving the ship and crew. They now grieved for their unborn child. But Marie's muffled sobs were quickly ended by screams of pure fear coming from the crew on deck. Larson and his wife turned their attention to the source of the commotion. His eyes widened as he saw a Wailing Banshee dragon galloping about on his ship. Its rainbow fish scales glistened with sea water as it trotted about on slimy scaled horse legs. A rainbow slime-covered lion's tail along with two fins trailed from its backside, and leathery wings flapped about on its sides. The dragon had some sort of, bundle, on its back that it was keeping from the crew. Marie got a better view of the creature as it defended the bundle, once she realized what it was, she raced down the stairs and in front of the dragon in defense. Larson ordered his men to cease the fighting as he asked his wife,_

_"Marie my dear, what is going on?" Larson demanded. Marie answered by stepping towards the Banshee dragon slowly. He stirred and growled at first, but Marie's calm and song-like voice are hard to resist. The Banshee calmed itself enough so Marie could remove the bundle from his back and stroking his snout reassuringly. The bundle was wrapped in layers of seaweed to keep it warm. When Marie removed the ocean plants, it revealed a newborn baby girl. Gasps and murmurs spread through the crew almost immediately. Larson's breath had stopped working as he gazed at the infant with sad eyes._

_"It seems the gods have favored you Captain" said one of the crew members. Larson considered asking what he meant, if not for knowing the exact meaning. His crew spoke of Marie's lost child, and only days later they were blessed with this infant girl. Marie looked at the baby with calm eyes and Larson could only smile at the young girl and join his wife in comforting the baby. _

_"It seems that the gods have indeed favored this ship, and this child!" Larson announced to his scurvy crew of pirates. "What shall we call the young lass?" he asked Marie. His wife only smiled brightly at the baby._

_"Clarisse" said Marie, "meaning shinning and calm, like the moon over the sea" Larson laughed triumphantly at his new daughter._

_"My loyal crew, I am proud to introduce to you, this little Babydoll, and my new daughter, Clarisse!" the crew erupted in excited cheers of triumph, and Marie stroked the Banshee dragon's snout once more,_

_"Thank you, you have saved this child, you may stay here as long as you'd like" she said to the creature. It nodded excitedly and nuzzled the baby, making it giggle happily. Marie thanked the gods for their blessing, for giving her and her husband a child, and saving this one from a watery grave. _

_"Welcome aboard the Nightmare Moon, Clarisse."_


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 The Sun through the trees.**

Hiccup woke that morning feeling sick, and not like sick as in nauseated or a mere head-ache. No, this morning he felt like, well he couldn't really describe it, it's like something was just… off today. He felt like something was missing. Then he turned to smile at a familiar face, his best friend Toothless was sitting on his rock, still sleeping. The Night Fury snored slightly as his owner climbed out of bed and silently walked past him. Hiccup hadn't noticed until he noticed, but it was at least a few hours until the rest of Berk was wide awake. This had been happening a lot in the past few weeks, Hiccup waking up at the crack of dawn and not losing a wink of sleep in the process, he couldn't explain it. It was as if whenever the sun was up, he had to get up with it. But when he did sleep was a different, more disturbing story. It seemed like the past couple of nights, whenever he closed his eyes, even for a quick power nap, he was plagued with horrific nightmares. All depicting the same image over and over again; he would be standing at the cliffs, turned towards the sea, and he would hear laughter behind him. It seemed to call to him, lure him to turn to face the source of the amusement, but whenever he turned to look, what he saw almost made him want to scream. An entire village engulfed in flame, the endless black skies shadowing the dying town, tens of hundreds of bodies littered the burning roads. Adults, teens, elders, even children were burning or bleeding to death. At the center of the chaos stood a woman, dressed all in black, and holding a wooden staff with a glowing orb of dark power at the tip. Her glossy brown hair was tinted red with the blood of the ones she killed, and a crown of iron and black gems sat atop her head. She laughed again, this time more demonically, and whenever she slowly turned to face him, Hiccup would hear the cry of a girl in pure agony, the scream echoing in his ears until he woke up, gasping for breath and sweating like he had just run around the village fifty times. He didn't want to tell anyone about this continuous nightmare, gods forbid Astrid. He just didn't know how anyone could help it. Whenever he did wake up from the nightmare, he would silently leave his house and take a walk through the forest to clear his mind. Which he was doing as I tell you this right now. He just thought to himself as he walked through the silent forest, who was this… monster who was haunting his dreams? Who was the girl who screamed? What did all of this mean!? Hiccup didn't even notice that he stepped in the icy waters of a small creek. The freezing brook made him jump in surprise; he regained focus and shook the water out of his fur boot. But a light caught his eye; he blinked it back since it shone IN his eye. Hiccup looked back into the running creek, his eyes stopping at what looked like an ember in the water. He bent down to get a closer look; it wasn't exactly an ember, but an amber stone. The rare gem stone was the crown jewel of an iron sun pendant. The chain that bore the amulet had rusted and crumbled in Hiccup's hands, yet the pedant itself seemed untouched by the forces of nature. He examined the amulet in his hand, it was about the size of his palm, iron, extremely detailed and expertly crafted. The smooth round amber seemed to have some sort of… energy trapped inside it as light danced and stirred inside the rare gemstone. He simply couldn't pull his gaze away from the amulet; it seemed to… call to him somehow. It was as if the pendant would explode and replace the much bigger sun that shone above Hiccup's head now. But when that never happened, Hiccup tore a strip of leather from his sleeve and twisted it until it fit through the loop of the amulet. The pendant now dangled around his neck on a leather chain. Hiccup smiled at his quick handy work and continued his walk through the forest, stopping once he reached the cliffs over the cove. The salty breeze made his eyes water as he watched the sea. A ship out in the distance caught his eye. It was a pretty neat vessel from what he could see. Black sails, and a winged horse as the figurehead. But what caused Hiccup distress was the flag flapping in the breeze, black cloth with the white skull and crossbones.

"Pirates" Hiccup muttered worriedly as he took off running back in the direction of the village.

"Dad I don't want to do this" complained the teen girl as she stood on the main deck with her father. He only chuckled in response,

"Clarisse my dear, remember, if you don't stand for something…?" he asked. The girl only rolled her eyes before answering with a genuine smile,

"If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything" Clarisse said to her father. Most wouldn't get the many wise expressions Clarisse and her father shared. This one simply meant that if you were alone in the world, you'd be the weakest in the world too. To truly have strength, you need others to give it to you. This crisp freezing morning was one of many she spent with her father Larson. He had woken her early so they could practice aim together, some shoot at targets, but not Clarisse and her father. Clarisse stood only about two yards from Larson, him loading his trusty pistol carefully. Leave it to her father to take his time and add to the tension. Clarisse fiddled with her pendant while she waited patiently. It was quite an exquisite piece of jewelry; a silver chain with an iron crescent moon pendant. A crescent-shaped, midnight blue moonstone as it's crowning. Clarisse's mother always said that she was a gift from the gods, and her necklace was sure proof, since the fact that when her parents found her as a baby, she had been wearing the pendant. It sometimes confused Clarisse when her mother and father talked about gifts from the gods and all that, which was uncommon since she and her family were pirates. Clarisse wore another necklace as well, this one on a longer thicker chain, and a gilded compass dangling at her chest with the skull and crossbones engraved into it.

"Alright my Babydoll, are you ready?" Larson asked as he finished loading his gun. He had called her Babydoll even when she was eighteen! It was because of Clarisse's near perfect physicality. She thought she looked normal enough, but others said she was the true face of beauty. Her hazel brown hair always glossy and untangled, but at the same time choppy and tussled; Clarisse thanked Chinese hair oil for that, and her stunning dark forest green eyes that always reminded Larson of the moonlight mixing with the darkness of the forest at night making the most perfectly alluring shade of green.

"I guess, but could you at least tell me when you're going to…" Clarisse never finished her sentence, because her father shot her right in the chest! Clarisse got pushed back by the force of the bullet and slammed against the ship's railing, leaving a few splinters in the wood. Sure she just got shot, but the breath got knocked out of her, so all she could say was,

"My stomach is in my mouth" she coughed. Her father only chuckled heartedly,

"So, does it work?" he asked. Clarisse undid the buttons on her wolf skin jacket and checked the iron surface of her armor. Larson had brought the ship into Singapore to pillage and plunder the other day and stole what the owner of one of the shops (he was shaking so much Clarisse though he was going to melt) said that it would protect you from bullets. Larson thought it best to test it before using it. Clarisse thought it both flattering and irritating that he picked her to take the shot. Clarisse located the bullet in her chest plate, it was successfully lodged in the metal so its wearer wouldn't die. Though she took a minute to get her breath back, Clarisse had no broken skin.

"Yep, it works" she laughed. Her father rushed to her side and extended his hand to help her up, once Clarisse was on her feet again, she heard the unmistakable sound of hooves clopping on the upper deck. She smiled at her Wailing Banshee dragon; Spectrum. Spectrum had been with Clarisse ever since her parents found him protecting her as a baby, he was her best friend and about the closest thing she had to a brother. Which he technically was since they shared blood. Oh I didn't tell you? Clarisse was a very special girl, she was what many cultures and people called a Draki. Which are an extraordinary people who have dragon's blood. They are said to have the abilities and qualities of dragons, such as incredible flexibility and agility, total confidence and fearlessness, inhuman speed and reflexes. Every sight, smell, and sound is heightened impossibly for Clarisse. Spectrum made a noise that sounded like a sword dragging against jagged stone, which was his own way of making sure Clarisse was okay.

"Relax boy I'm fine, dad was just testing his new bullet-proof armor" she explained with a tap on her chest-plate. He responded by nuzzling Clarisse's face affectionately, his mane that consisted of slimy tentacles, venomous spines, and fishy fins tickled my cheek making her giggle slightly. Spectrum, in dragon rates was quite the rarity, Wailing Banshees weren't very common in colder climates, they prefer wide open oceans like Greece or Ireland, and Spectrum was something to look at. All in all, Banshees looked more like rainbow pegasus' than dragons. But they were ferocious just the same. Spectrum had the head of a horse, with a mane that included tentacles for grabbing prey, poisonous spines to paralyze the helpless victim, three rows of sharp teeth in his mouth for chomping down on fresh meat, and lubricated fins to help with speed in the water, he had breath-taking sea green eyes with vertical slits for pupils. His body had amazing metamorphic qualities, such as morphing his slimy horse legs into slender and smooth fins for swimming, and growing magnificent wings for flying. And don't forget his brutishly strong legs for running. Whenever he flew or ran with legs, his tail fin would grow slim and become a long lion's tail with two fins. His entire body was made up of luminescent, slimy scales in a ton of different colors, mostly green, blue, and black. But hey, Banshees were genetically designed for beauty. Since they're originally water dragons, they don't breath fire, instead they use an ear-splitting shriek to stun their prey and also lure them in at times. The banshee-shriek is mush similar to the sound bomb of the Thunder Drum, but the difference is that a Thunder Drum's sound defense knocks the victim out cold, where-as the Banshee uses it's scream to throw the attacker or victim out of focus, dulling their senses and rendering them pretty much useless. In Greece and Rome they are called the Siren dragon. Spectrum made a clicking and grinding sound that was his way of purring and showing affection, Clarisse rubbed his nose before he cantered back below deck to his stables. Larson had it built in when his wife, and Clarisse's mother insisted that the dragon stay with them, he was a fantastic hunter and a scurvy pirate. The look on the king's navy's faces once they saw the Nightmare Moon with a dragon in their midst, absolutely priceless.

"Now that that's over and done with" Larson began, "we must prepare to go ashore for the night" he explained to the crew members up on deck. They nodded and began to prepare the longboats. Clarisse and Spectrum peered out at the small island where they would make camp, it looked uninhabited, but this region is known for having _a lot_ of dragons, so Clarisse would have to be on her toes. She wasn't afraid of them, she was just always cautious. Spectrum grew his fins and jumped overboard into the water, Clarisse laughed slightly as he splashed her slightly. She was gathering her weapons just in case of an attack, which included her katana sword, which she had acquired when she was a girl, her dual pistols, a tomahawk, a dagger strapped to her boot, a whip, and her trusty crossbow, along with a few other necessities. Once the longboats were prepared, Clarisse, Larson, and few others of the crew started towards the small island. Clarisse watched Spectrum glide carelessly beneath the surface of the water, his scales glistening in the sun as he surfaced. She turned her gaze towards the isle, excitement building up to volcanic levels, though she kept herself calm. Her mouth stretched into a devilish grin as she looked forward to her next adventure.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 A Pirate's Life for me.**

"Pirates? In Berk, are you sure?" Hiccup had raced back to the village to tell everyone of the pirate ship he had seen, but it had looked as if it had been passing by, but he wasn't sure so he decided to tell Astrid before anyone else. Honestly she was reacting, less violently than he had expected.

"I saw the flag, but it didn't look as if they were going to attack" Hiccup explained. To this Astrid punched him in the arm, which she did on several occasions.

"Seriously Hiccup? Their pirates, they don't just 'pass by'" she exclaimed with electricity sparking in her voice. Leave it to Astrid to knock sense into someone, literally. But he had to admit she was right, they're pirates. They're untrustworthy, lying, stealing, cheating, pirates.

"You're right" Hiccup said with sarcastic defeat. Astrid only smiled triumphantly,

"Aren't I always?" she said with a slight laugh. "Well, there are still pirates to deal with; we need to prepare for a possible attack." Hiccup nodded and they both left Hiccup's house to tell the village of the coming pirate ship. Hiccup worried, he worried that this black ship had something to do with his nightmares. He had heard rumors as a child, of a pirate ship as black as night. It was called the "_Nightmare Moon_" and it was said to be the fastest, most dangerous ship in the ocean. Fiercer than any dragon and that's what Hiccup feared about it the most.

Clarisse, and the rest of the crew members that came ashore, was setting up her temporary home for the night. It wasn't much, just a small tent with a crescent moon monogrammed into the fabric so the crew would know who was inside. Spectrum just sat by the fire-pit they had dug, making marks in the sand as his tail whipped back and forth. Morder grunted in his general direction, probably complaining silently how Spectrum wasn't helping with the camp.

"Spectrum, you could help you know?" Clarisse smirked. Spectrum only replied with a few of his clicking noises, which probably meant: "I could, but you've already done so much, and I wouldn't want to interrupt." Banshees are such divas. Clarisse rolled her eyes and kept working on her tent, Larson was speaking with Butch about a possible village nearby. Of course she listened in, and it's not like she could help it, what with her dragon hearing.

"So, are we raiding or not?" Butch asked impatiently.

"Butch, in that village, there lives a boy who people call "the Dragon Conqueror" and if this is true, then that village will have lots of dragons to defend them from, let's say, pirates?" Larson explained. This took Clarisse by surprise, Dragon Conqueror? How exactly did this boy "conquer" dragons? Clarisse listened as her father continued,

"And as much as in dulls me to leave a village un-pirated, I'm afraid we must cross the isle of Berk off our to-do list, so let's just load up and we'll set sail tomorrow morning" Larson ended the conversation with Butch and walked off to finish setting up camp. Spectrum abandoned his spot by the pit to nudge Clarisse with clear annoyance.

"What now?" Clarisse almost snapped. Spectrum only clicked and clacked irritably, and Clarisse already knew what he was thinking.

"We're not going to that village, you heard what dad said, do you really want to meet this so-called "Dragon Conqueror"?" I asked making finger quotes when I said Dragon Conqueror. Spectrum only creaked while stomping his leg impatiently. Clarisse knew better than anyone that he was always the one that was more adventurous, and though he was a bit cowardice sometimes, he knew that Clarisse was fearless and strong enough to handle herself. But like always, it was Spectrum who got them into trouble, and Clarisse always got them out of it. She sighed with defeat and whispered

"Fine, but we'll leave tonight, after everyone is asleep" Spectrum creaked excitedly, and Clarisse rubbed his nose. It was going to be a long day if Spectrum was this excited about a simple village. I mean, what did Spectrum think was so special about this place? And why was he dragging Clarisse into it?

The day went by quicker than Clarisse would have hoped for. Hunting was a breeze, wild dragons paid her no mind; which was odd, and now the crew sat around the fire, enjoying the rum they had brought from the ship. Clarisse held her bottle in one hand, while she pet Spectrum with the other. Even though Clarisse was only eighteen, she couldn't drink rum, but it was a secret between her and her father that they kept from her mother, who was back on the ship repairing torn sails, cleaning, and other maiden duties that Clarisse never took part in. Clarisse was always hesitant to say that her mother was a scurvy pirate like the rest of the crew, but her father said that ever since they had lost their first child, and found her, Marie Dalma had been a shadow of her former self. She was no longer adventurous, she no longer enjoyed a good sword-match, and she sure as heck didn't pillage and plunder anymore. It made Clarisse feel guilty sometimes, her mother gave up the exciting life of piracy to be a simple housewife, or I guess  
>you'd call it ship-wife, so to speak. Clarisse sighed and poured some rum into her cupped hand, letting Spectrum lick it up. He liked it when I shared with him, whether it was the killing blow to a caribou, or even something simple like fish or rum. She petted him again, and he made his click-purr sound. After a few hours of drinking, adventure stories, and Kane nearly falling into the fire, everyone turned in for the night. Everyone except Clarisse. Clarisse had always been a night-owl; it seemed as if whenever the moon was up and the stars were out, she had to stay up with them. She just leaned against Spectrum while he dozed; his wings draped over her like a blanket while she looked at the night sky. She traced patterns in the stars with her fingers and when she was sure everyone was out cold either from exhaustion or alcohol, she had traced a bear, a wolf, a lion, and a scorpion. Clarisse softly shook Spectrum awake and once he remembered their little plan he was practically jumping with excitement. She had to shush him so he wouldn't wake anyone up. Clarisse gathered her weapons, making sure her pistols and crossbow were loaded and her sword and what-not freshly sharpened. Clarisse fished out her old battle helmet; it was simple yet very detailed and amazingly crafted. It was made of iron, with a metal mask that lifted above and over her face, and an intricate design of a dragon on her head, its wings outstretched, and its tail drifting down the back like a pony-tail. And on the forehead, in big, fancy gold letters said "Clarisse." She pulled the helmet over her head and tucked her glossy brown hair into it. Once she was sure they were ready, Spectrum lifted his front leg enough so the bottom surface of his hoof faced up, and Clarisse mounted up using his hoof as a sort of step-stool. She felt two of his long tentacles coil around her arms; she used this technique for steering and pulling back, much like reins on a bridle. She quietly spurred him, and they were off to the village.<p>

Hiccup had finished explaining to the village the pirate situation, and everyone was on edge. Guard duties had been doubled, the skies were off limits, and there was even a curfew for people under twenty. But since Hiccup was the chief's son, and the lead dragon trainer, he was permitted to be on guard duty, even though he was only eighteen. He held a crossbow as he stood guard on the outskirts of town in his helmet; people said it made him look more intimidating. He had to say he was a bit honored. Not everyone expected him to rise up to standards like riding a dragon, and teaching others to do the same. Toothless, who stood next to him looking bored as ever, just sat on the ground tracing lines in the dirt with his claws. And just as Hiccup was prepared to call it a night and head home, things got interesting. They both heard a twig snap in the forest. Toothless growled and Hiccup raised his crossbow in the general direction the noise came from,

"Who's there?" he said as bravely as he could. When a rustling sounded from the dark woods again, Hiccup gripped the trigger of his bow with a mix of adrenaline and fear. When he had his target in sight and was about to open fire, a small purple Terrible Terror scampered into the light of Hiccup's lantern. He lowered his weapon in annoyance at the small dragon, which only blinked its eyes dumbly before coughing up a small fireball and then scurrying back into the woods. Hiccup sighed and set his bow up against Toothless.

"Maybe I was right before" he started, "Maybe those pirates weren't a threat?" Toothless nodded once to show he agreed.

"Aren't a threat?" asked a female voice out of nowhere. Hiccup was on his feet again and lifted his crossbow towards where he heard the voice. He looked up and saw a girl sitting on one of the roofs. She looked about his age, but he couldn't see her face because she wore a helmet. All he could make out were her strangely familiar forest green eyes, and the name "Clarisse" engraved in her helmet. "Oh no, on my ship, we are very much a threat" she purred viciously. Hiccup sensed something… familiar about this girl; Clarisse. And there was just something, off, about her too.

"Well then, Clarisse, is it? If you are a pirate, then I have no choice but to pull this trigger" Hiccup said with surprising confidence. Clarisse only laughed mockingly, Hiccup aimed the bow carefully; though he was shaking a little, he had never killed anyone before, much less a pirate! Clarisse only cocked her head with a devilish smile before Hiccup closed his eyes and fired.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 Wolf fight and rainbow horse dragons**

He wanted to believe he imagined it. He wanted to think it was a dream or some other way of denying the fact that he just killed someone! Hiccup opened his eyes, prepared to see Clarisse's dead body on the ground, but instead, he saw an arrow lodged in the roof of a house as if he fired at nothing. His eyes narrowed in confusion, his bow lowered, which was a big mistake. A foot came out of nowhere and kicked him in the face! He hit the ground with a thud. With wide eyes, Hiccup looked up at Clarisse, who loomed over him like a dark cloud. With her devilish grin she said,

"Am I a threat now?" she asked with a smirk. She said it like it was a joke, and it probably was to her. When he thought he saw her reach for a sword strapped to her back, she just froze. Her eyes darted around as if she was looking for something, she stood perfectly still as she listened to the forest. Hiccup took this as his chance to run. He got to his feet and sprinted as fast as his prosthetic leg could get, good news; Clarisse didn't seem to be following him. Bad news; he was running deeper into the woods. Hiccup ran until his fake leg caught itself in a bear-trap, the metal teeth chomped down on the mechanic leg, causing him to trip and fall. He didn't feel any pain from the trap, but he was still trapped, and a howl in the distance didn't make him feel better. Wolves, he thought. Fantastic!

"Oh gods where is Toothless when you need him?!" Hiccup said aloud as he tried using his dagger to pry the jaws off his metal leg. The wolf howls got closer and Hiccup tried harder to free himself, but his attempt were in vein. His heart practically stopped when he saw the first wolf approach him, it had silver fur and gold eyes, blood staining its mouth from a different kill. It barred its sharp fangs at Hiccup, who just kept trying to undo the bear trap, more frantically and nervous than before. Five more wolves joined the silver wolf, probably waiting for the right moment to make the move and eat Hiccup alive.

"Come on you piece of crap, open!" Hiccup shouted at the clenched teeth of the trap. The silver wolf started running at him, teeth bared and murder in its eyes.

"Oh God!" Hiccup covered his face with his arms, only to hear the sudden whimper of the wolf. He looked back and saw an arrow lodged in its skull. The other wolves just stared at the silver wolf's dead body. Hiccup looked behind him to see the girl Clarisse, holding a crossbow, one that was much more sophisticated then his own. Now that he was looking at her, she had a scary amount of weapons with her, including a sword, the crossbow, a dagger strapped to her boot, a small axe and a whip on her belt, and two pistols in a body holster.

"Okay you mutts; let's see what you've got" Clarisse taunted with fire in her voice. She looked among the wolves, as if trying to decide which one to kill first. Hiccup swore he saw her eyes change to a crystal-like state with vertical pupils. She looked just like, a dragon. The wolf with cream colored fur attacked first, teeth bared, and Clarisse just grinned devilishly,

"Blondie it is." Clarisse unsheathed her sword, which was curved and covered in amazingly intricate dragon designs. The wolf lunged at her, but she just kicked it in the jaw and slashed her sword across its back, killing it instantly and getting some of its blood all over Hiccup. Clarisse's teeth glimmered white with a devilish grin. Another wolf, who had reddish-brown fur, tried attacking her from behind, but Clarisse ducked and literally flipped onto the wolf's back, grabbing its neck and snapping it like a twig. She glanced in Hiccup's direction with a smirk,

"What the, what?!" Hiccup managed to say as Clarisse fought off the wolves. One with dark grey fur managed to pin her to the ground, its jaws snapping murderously, Clarisse only grabbed it by the jaws and threw him against a tree, knocking it unconscious. One wolf with white fur, teamed up with the last wolf and they both attacked Clarisse. This part of the fight she seemed to lose focus for a moment, she was cornered and the two wolves were about to sink their teeth into her back and face, when she then used her sword to cut off the white wolf's tail and shish kabob the other in the head. The white wolf whimpered and limped away, but Clarisse wasn't done, she unsheathed her dagger and the white wolf fell to the ground with a knife in its back. Hiccup felt like he was going to throw up, but it wasn't over yet. The dark grey wolf shook himself awake and was growling at Clarisse, who only smiled before sheathing her sword and dagger and taking out the pistols in her holster. She strode confidently over to the wolf, which now had its back to a tree. She loaded her pistols and pointed them right between the wolf's eyes. Hiccup flinched as the shot echoed a bit, as did the whimper of the now dead wolf. Clarisse turned back towards him, Hiccup held up his dagger defensively. She only laughed mockingly,

"Dude that is one small-ass dagger" she said. Hiccup only raised his eyebrow questioningly, and stole a glance at his dagger self-consciously. "Chill I'm a good guy, now come on, get up" she said as she fired another shot at the bear-trap, breaking the holding mechanism so Hiccup could move. She outstretched her hand. Hiccup, who was still freaking out on the way Clarisse had gone Dragon on those wolves, took her hand and pulled himself to his feet. How was she even able to do all that!? She looked like she was in good shape, slender but not skinny, with strands of her brown hair sticking out of her helmet, and her crystal dragon eyes had changed back to human. Clarisse had had enough of this island for one night; killing off a pack of wolves and saving the life of some tooth-pick/boy. She was able to get a good look at him from the trees before the wolves attacked. Scrawny, but tall; at least a head taller than Clarisse, and wore a hard leather suit of armor with slots and pockets all over it. And his left shoulder plate was painted red with a skull design. He was the weirdest Viking she'd ever seen. Clarisse never saw his face, he wore a mask like she did, only this one was leather like the rest of his ensemble, with spikes running down the forehead. He seemed to be well enough to walk back to the village on his own, and Clarisse was just about to walk away, when she heard sirens wail in the direction of the village. Hiccup cursed under his breath, he was so caught up in being attacked by wolves and being saved by female pirates that he'd forgotten about guarding the town! He was about to turn tail and run, when Clarisse shot him a deadly glare before doing just that. She ran.

Clarisse couldn't believe she let that happen! She was running from Vikings, and Spectrum was busy having the time of his life back at that village. They had been carefully sneaking around when Clarisse saw that boy on guard duty and decided to have some fun, obviously that fun turned sour fairly quickly. Next thing she knows, Clarisse is saving his scrawny ass from wolves. And now she was running from the Vikings before she was caught and thrown in jail for piracy, and she'd been in a fair number of jail cells; don't ask. Clarisse caught a quick glance at who was chasing her, a girl about her age with blonde hair, and holding a rather sharp axe. This Blondie was keeping up with her fairly well, time to change that, Clarisse thought. She focused her energy on her hand, and in two seconds, it was on fire! she threw the fireball at Blondie, who dodged it and kept chasing her. Clarisse cursed as she burst into a clearing. But it wasn't a clearing, it was the village, and five other teenagers, including Spiked helmet, were closing in on her.

"Mother f…" she was too busy planning escape to worry about cursing out loud. She gazed at a house that sat only a few feet from her, she's take her chances. Ledges and shelves lined the house making it the perfect escape tool. Clarisse jumped up to the first ledge, jumping and pulling herself up on the shelves until she somersaulted onto the roof. The other teens looked at her as if she'd grown a second head! No one was able to move so quickly and with such agility and poise. Of course Clarisse knew this; being a Draki has its perks. But none the less the teens followed her as made impossible jumps and flips along the village roofs, leaping around like, well a dragon. Hiccup watched the girl with wide eyes as she made jumps he was sure only Toothless could pull off! speaking of which, Toothless came out of nowhere and tackled the masked girl. She held him off by holding open his mouth, which was a _very _bad idea. Hiccup heard the noise that Toothless made when he was about to spit a fireball. Hiccup shielded his eyes, as did his friends as Toothless open-fired on Clarisse. When the flames parted, Clarisse just stood there holding his mouth open, it was as if the fire hadn't touched her at all!

"Bad move you overbrowned gecko!" Clarisse growled at Toothless, who cocked his head in confusion. Clarisse just gave the night fury her devilish grin as she let go of his jaws and punched him in the head, knocking him out cold. Now that was impossible! No one was strong enough to beat a night fury with pure strength, it was just not done! Hiccup and the others just stared at her,

"You beat him with one punch" Astrid finally said. Clarisse only glared at them, stealing a glance skyward before grinning again. Hiccup cocked his head questioningly, before the horse came.

A dragon with the appearance and size of a Clydesdale horse slammed down in front of Clarisse. Its entire body was covered in luminescent colored scales that would put any nadder to shame. Tentacles, spines and fins hung and stuck out from its head like an aquatic mane, and a finned tail hung from its backside. It looked amazing and Hiccup couldn't pull his eyes away, but he snapped out of it when Clarisse pressed her hands against her ears. He took the hint and did the same as the dragon made an ear shattering shriek that made the other riders drop to their knees trying to muffle the sound with their hands against their ears. Hiccup felt like the shriek was actually numbing his brain, he couldn't think, he couldn't breathe, all he wanted to do was claw his ears off so the sound would stop. When the dragon ceased its banshee scream, Hiccup opened his eyes to see Clarisse on the dragon's back, two of its tentacles wrapped around her forearms.

"I would love to stay and chat but…" she started, Clarisse spurred the dragon and he reared and flapped his colorful wings. "Got to fly" at that the rainbow dragon thrust himself into the air, wings outstretched and started flying away. Hiccup started after the glimmering dragon with confused eyes, but Astrid snapped him out of it,

"Come on! We need to catch up with her!" she exclaimed as she mounted her deadly nadder- Stormfly. He nodded as he double backed with her since Toothless was still knocked out from Clarisse's death punch. His friends mounted up too, and they took off after Clarisse.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 Butterfly kicks and cliff dives**

Hiccup sat behind Astrid as they rode Stormfly, trying to catch up with Clarisse and her dragon. The teens, which included Hiccup, Astrid, Fishlegs, the twins- Ruffnut and Tuffnut, and Snotlout. They were all chasing the same girl, who was practically miles ahead of them. The dragon she was riding then took a steep dive, and Astrid steered Stormfly to follow. Clarisse and her dragon were gaining speed, and when they were too far down to pull out of the dive, Hiccup nearly called out to her, but he never could. Before he could make a sound, a huge splash sprayed them in the face. Hiccup and Astrid wiped the sea water from their eyes, not believing what just happened. Hiccup was about to reply, when a glimmer of scales glinted below the surface of the water.

"They're under the water!" he called back to the other riders. Hiccup pointed in the direction Clarisse and her dragon were swimming, they were headed to a deep gorge that lead to the ocean, but deeper inland dried up enough to walk on. "she's going that way!" Astrid spurred Stormfly and they all followed the glimmer of the water dragon's scales in the water.

The sun was high in the sky by now, and this was not how Clarisse wanted to spend her morning. Being chased by dragon riders including Spiked and Blondie, wasn't what she'd expect on a simple supplies trip. She took a chance and steered Spectrum into the water, hoping to lose them in a gorge that expanded into a dry canyon. Unfortunately, Spectrum's light reflecting scales gave us away, and the other riders followed us. Spectrum pulled himself onto the rocky shore of the canyon while Clarisse checked her weapons and to make sure her guns were loaded. She pulled off her helmet and re-did her hair, pinning up her salty hazel locks into several braids, a jeweled hair-pin for each one. Once she finished and pulled the helmet back over her head, she could hear the riders approaching. Clarisse turned towards them, among the six riders there were four dragons; Spiked and Blondie rode together, probably since Clarisse knocked that night fury unconscious. There was a deadly nadder, a zippleback, a gronkcle, and a monstrous nightmare; all formidable opponents. She knew she could take them, but Spectrum needed to get back to camp, she sure as hell wasn't letting Spectrum get taken by this so called "Dragon Conqueror."

"Spectrum, get back to camp" Clarisse told him as the riders got closer. He just glared at her as if to say 'no way! You won't scare me off that easily.' "Spectrum this is no joke, if you go back alone then dad will just think I went out to hunt, I'll be fine" Clarisse pleaded. She and Spectrum locked eyes for a moment before he dove back into the  
>water, swimming deeper so the riders wouldn't see him. Clarisse stood proudly as the dragons and their riders touched down in front of her. Blondie and Spiked dismounted the nadder and stood quietly for a while.<p>

Hiccup could now completely see Clarisse in the light of morning. She wore black leather boots, thick linen camouflage- green pants, an armor skirt and a silver belt. She wore a shirt that looked like it was made of green dragon skin, (which freaked him out a little) and an armor metal chest plate and shoulder armor to match her skirt. With black leather sleeves and a sleeve of transparent fabric draped over it, and brown knuckle-less gloves. An iron necklace chain dangled around her neck, the pendant hidden in her armor. Her helmet was still pulled over her head, but Hiccup could still see her familiar and alluring forest green eyes.

"I'm all for sending my dragon away to protect her and everything, but I think you just threw away your only way of defense" Astrid smirked. Clarisse returned with her devilish grin,

"Don't flatter yourself Blondie, I can fight on my own" she growled. Astrid glared murderously at her, probably from the little nick-name Clarisse just gave her. she glanced at Snotlout and Hookfang, his monstrous nightmare. He told the dragon to do something, Clarisse heard him say,

"Alright boy, crush her."

Bring it on, Clarisse thought. The monstrous nightmare growled deeply and approached Clarisse slowly, she could hear its teeth grinding in its mouth, and could see the blood thirst in its eyes, but Clarisse was not afraid.

The nightmare paused about five feet away from her, breathing silently. Clarisse took a deep breath, and slowly reached for her sword. The nightmare roared and swatted Clarisse clear across the canyon with its tail. Clarisse let out a yell as his spiked tail collided with her chest, her body flew across the canyon and crashed into the ground with a grunt. Clarisse made a tear-shaped crater in the ground the size of a night fury, the earth churned up from her landing. She coughed up some dust before the nightmare charged. He lifted his strong legs and tried to squash Clarisse, but she was quick enough to duck out of the way, but he was clever enough to wrap his tail around her and throw her again. This time she landed on her shoulder, earning her another painful groan. The nightmare caught her on the ground and slammed his tail against the ground, launching Clarisse against the canyon wall and making a significant sized crater. Clarisse felt her dragon instincts kicking in as she quickly drew her sword and blocked the nightmare's fifth attack. He pulled his tail free and tried to push Clarisse back again, but she pinned his tail beneath her curved blade. He yanked it loose and pushed Clarisse back, she used her sword to push against it, but her feet left deep marks in the earth as she was pushed back against the nightmare's hit. Clarisse gained balance and ran from the dragon, but he winded up and swung his tail again, this time it was on fire! Clarisse heard the flames crackling and leapt into the air, and butterfly kicked over the dragon's tail and landing on her feet in front of it. The monstrous nightmare tried chomping down on her and swallowing her whole, but she swung her blade cunningly and made a thin slice in his tongue, making him spit and wave his tongue around angrily. He grit his teeth with rage, Clarisse only made him mad. She gripped her sword and turned it closer to her body as the nightmare tried pouncing on her, but she cart wheeled out of the way, flipped over his tail again, and landed perfectly on her two feet. Now the dragon was really mad, he was charging and attacking randomly, which was what Clarisse wanted. She ducked under his third tail swing and sliced her blade across his wing, making a deep enough fracture so he couldn't fly for at least a week. She spun her sword so she held it properly now, and charged towards the nightmare while he was down. He looked at her with narrowed eyes and growled, he could have snapped, but Clarisse was too quick. She hit him in the head with the hilt of her sword, knocking him unconscious. Clarisse could finally catch her breath, at least for a few seconds before a fireball flew in the direction of her head. Luckily, she ducked quick enough to see it hit the canyon wall instead.

Clarisse whipped her head around to see the two-headed zippleback curl its serpent heads viciously in her direction. One head began to spew gas towards her while the other set in ablaze. The flames managed to singe Clarisse's hair before she broke into a run. The zippleback's fire trailed behind her as she ran fast enough to stay ahead of it, but the two-headed dragon was keeping track of her path and the flames were gaining on her. The fires were an inch from roasting her when Clarisse quickly ducked beneath the flames, running in the opposite direction and starting the cycle over again. It wasn't the fire that made her run, it was the poisonous gas that zippleback fire produced, it engulfed Clarisse only for a moment before she broke free and started running towards the two-headed dragon. Its toxic fire would have choked her out of focus, but she leapt once again into the air, this time spinning into a mid-air corkscrew, once again landing with perfect and dragon-like balance. She sheathed her sword and pulled out her crossbow, turning the small dial to the grappling hook. She took her aim at the canyon wall behind the zippleback, and fired. The hooked arrow was driven into the side of the canyon, and Clarisse hit the retract feature, launching herself through the air again. She leaned her weight under the zippleback's heads and swung on the iron cable multiple times until the dragon was perfectly lassoed. Its heads, now tied together, hit the ground with a thud. They struggled, but all in vein, they weren't getting out of that bind any time soon. Clarisse used her dagger to cut the line so she could put away her crossbow, and walked sluggishly between the two downed dragons. The unconscious monstrous nightmare, and the now lassoed zippleback.

Spiked, Blondie and the other teens looked at Clarisse with pure shock in their eyes, the dark haired, muscular boy just stared with his mouth hanging open. Blondie's expression then turned irritated, and she motioned for the deadly nadder to attack Clarisse. The nadder then charged, spines outstretched, big mistake. Clarisse jumped up onto the nadder's back and pushed it into the ground, rendering it out cold with a face full of dirt. Clarisse shot a deadly glare at the gronkcle as if to say; "Don't even think about it!" the gronkcle cowered and jumped away. Clarisse jumped off of the unconscious nadder's back and stood perfectly still. The teens stood just as still, all with the same shocked expression.

Clarisse took off running again, this time taking an impressive leap onto the canyon wall. With a cocky grin she began to climb. But those teens had other plans, Spiked started to climb the wall trying to catch up with her. Good luck, she thought with a smirk. His friends were firing arrows and what-not to try to slow her down, Blondie even threw an axe that lodged itself in the stone wall not two-inches from Clarisse's face! But it was actually working to her advantage, she used the lodged arrows as climbing tools, jamming them into nooks and crannies that would get her to the top of the gorge and into the forest. Clarisse suddenly felt a hand grab her by the foot and pull her down. She looked over her shoulder to see Spiked holding onto an arrow lodged in the stone with one hand, and pulling Clarisse down with the other.

"Hey!" she shouted, "Get off!" Clarisse kicked him in the head multiple times with her free foot, and he grunted painfully each time her boot met his face. He eventually let go of her foot once she kicked off his spiked helmet, his mechanical leg suddenly got caught in one of the nooks in the wall. The boy lost his grip on the lodged arrow and fell back against the canyon wall upside-down. His fake leg stuck in that nook was the only thing keeping him alive. Clarisse pulled herself up onto a spread out ledge, the top of the gorge only a few seconds away. She looked back down at the boy, and was about to crack a snarky joke, but something stopped her. This was the first time since they first met last night that Clarisse saw his face. Tussled hazel brown hair, oval shaped face, small traces of freckles, and forest green eyes. He… he looks just like me! Clarisse screamed in her mind. Other than Clarisse's smaller nose, it was like she was seeing herself dangling off the same cliff about to die-ignoring the gender difference though. Clarisse jumped back in shock, but looked back over the cliff when she heard a scared voice yell,

"Hiccup!" Clarisse saw that Blondie had shouted the boy's name. Clarisse could see from where she stood the look of pure fear in the girl's eyes, as opposed to the girl who tried to kill Clarisse only seconds ago, this Blondie looked like she was about to cry! Clarisse looked back at the mirror-image boy; Hiccup, once more before making her decision on what to do. Clarisse ran towards the wall of the canyon and began to climb up again, but once she was sure her plan would work, she took the ultimate leap of faith.

Clarisse pushed back against the wall and jumped back into open air, twisting and curling herself into the landing position she wanted. Clarisse's nails dragged along the rock wall as she positioned herself to where she was in just the right place to save Hiccup's life. Again.

"Give me your hand!" Clarisse ordered him. Hiccup looked at her with questioning eyes, like he wasn't sure he could trust her or not. But she knew how to help him make up his mind, "You can either let me save your life a second time, or I can leave you here to die!" Clarisse snapped. Hiccup's fake leg shifted and was about two seconds away from releasing its grip on the wall and Hiccup going "Splat!"

"Your choice." She finished. At this, Hiccup lunged for her outstretched hand and grabbed it just in time before his leg broke free from its hold in the rock wall and he fell to his doom. Clarisse pulled him up so he could hold on to her shoulders as she began to climb up again. She pulled herself and Hiccup onto the ledge and pushed him away from her so she could stand up.

"Who are you?" Hiccup demanded as he stood up trying to catch his breath. Clarisse only stared at him, the likeness was uncanny! Other than his nose and his green eyes it was like Clarisse was looking in a mirror. She said nothing as she climbed quickly up the remaining wall, jumping and grabbing stones to get her away quicker. With one final pull up, Clarisse lifted herself up onto the cliff. Clarisse took a deep breath and ran into the forest, hopefully to make it back to camp before Spectrum did.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 Fire throwing, dragon jumping girl jacked us!**

Hiccup had carefully climbed down the rock wall, only to have the breath knocked out of him again by Astrid's bear hug.

"if you died I would have killed you!" she snapped. Hiccup didn't exactly understand her logic, but he kept his mouth shut. Back to the bigger problem at hand, Hiccup looked back up at the cliff where Clarisse stood not a minute ago.

"so, anyone want to explain what the heck just happened!" Tuffnut exclaimed as his sister Ruffnut tried to untie Belch and Barf from Clarisse's bind. She looked very confused as she even tried using a knife to cut the metal ropes away, only to get tangled in it as well.

"Yah" Astrid added, "That one girl, kicked all of our dragons' asses in less than an hour!" the others nodded as Snotlout squatted next to Hookfang, who started to stir. The monstrous nightmare growled under his breath, probably remembering how he got knocked out.

"She was pretty hot though" Tuffnut spoke up with a smirk. Astrid shot him a glare, silently telling him to stay focused on the problem. Meanwhile, Hiccup was deep in thought. He kept thinking about the way Clarisse looked at him when she kicked off his helmet, it was like, she knew him. And then there was the way she fought, the way she moved. It seemed, natural to her, if not god-like to him and his friends. Her fighting skill was, amazing, impossible, and inhuman. Even her eyes were strange, they were glass-like, no, more like shattered crystal. And they were a brilliant shade of forest green, with vertical slits for pupils. A dragon's eyes.

"So, how do we get back to town?" Fishlegs asked. Hiccup sighed and shook his head, so many questions went through Hiccup's head unanswered. And now that most of the dragons were unconscious, it was going to be a long day.

"Hiccup?" he turned to see Astrid and the others turning to him for answers. "There's one more thing I noticed about that girl…" Astrid explained.

"What was it?" Fishlegs asked. Astrid got a look on her face that Hiccup rarely saw out in the open. It was a mix of confusion, frustration, and fear.

"She… threw a fireball at me" Astrid finally said. the others stared wide eyed for a moment before Hiccup asked,

"What do you mean, like with a torch or something?" Astrid shook her head,

"No I mean, on her own, a ball of fire, in her hand, no gloves, no burns, nothing. And she just threw it at me" now the others were silent, including Hiccup. It was absolutely impossible for a human to use fire the way a dragon does. Dragons are biologically designed to be immune to fire and breathe fire, except for a few water dragons Hiccup had met, but that's beside the point. The six dragon riders had no idea who, or what, they were dealing with. A girl, who can move and fight like a dragon, down four of the strongest dragons in the world in less than ten minutes, control fire, and she also rode a dragon like the rest of them. Great.

Clarisse ran through the thick forest, she knew she'd left that canyon far behind. But she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being followed. She came to a clearing that she knew was only a few miles from her camp, when a black mass tackled her to the ground. The night fury pinned her with its teeth bared and hatred in his eyes. Clarisse stood perfectly still as the dragon sniffed her curiously. He growled before snapping his jaws onto her face, or at least her helmet. The dragon yanked Clarisse's helmet off of her head and leapt back with it in his jaws.

"Hey!" Clarisse yelled as she got to her feet. The night fury held her helmet in his mouth with amusement in his eyes as if this was some sort of game. He just stood there, looking at her. He looked at her and her long, choppy brown hair, her green eyes that could only belong to his best friend, he looked at her as if they knew each other. Old friends playing some kind of game for the thousandth time. Then Clarisse remembered, that boy-Hiccup- had a night fury. This must be it, Clarisse thought.

"I know you think I'm that boy but I'm not, so give me back my helmet!" Clarisse snapped. The dragon seemed to pout a little before dropping her helmet on the ground and kicking it over to her. Clarisse whipped the dragon slobber from her metal mask with her sleeve, when the night fury peered over her shoulder at the fancy gold letters that spelled her name. He was looking at her from head to toe, as if debating whether she was Hiccup or not. Clarisse glared at him,

"You know, Hiccup and his friends are stuck in the gorge down that way," Clarisse pointed the fury in the right direction. "You should go help them" she said before the dragon sped off in the direction of the gorge. Clarisse gave a small chuckle before pulling her helmet over her head again, and running back in the direction of camp.

Clarisse arrived at camp not a minute too soon. She didn't see Spectrum anywhere so that was a good sign, she spotted her father with some of the crew and rushed over to him.

"Clarisse my dear, off on another hunting trip I presume?" her father asked with a raised eyebrow. Clarisse pulled her helmet off of her head and tossed it into one of the crates being loaded in the longboats. She felt her cheeks grow hot with embarrassment. She didn't like lying to her family, so she told her dad the truth. Sort of.

"Yah, I spotted this scrawny animal wandering around when I ran into some wolves, and then some dragons, but I handled it and, as you can see, I'm fine" Clarisse explained. She didn't exactly lie. She just left out the part about how the scrawny animal was the boy who looked almost exactly like her, and how the dragons were being lead by a group of Viking teenagers. Larson pondered it for a moment before nodding,

"Well alright then, prepare to ship out!" he ordered the crew. Clarisse sighed with relief, she couldn't wait to get off this island as soon as possible. A glimmer of luminescent scales caught her eye as Spectrum leapt out of the water like a penguin. He was about to shriek and start going nuts, when he caught sight of Clarisse. She was sitting perfectly unharmed, cross-legged on a log with her devilish smirk. Spectrum croaked and made a sort-of pouting face as he walked sluggishly over to where Clarisse was sitting. He slumped down next to her as she stroked his head calmly.

"Let's make a pact, never come back to this island again. Ever!" Clarisse purposed. Spectrum gave a firm nod in agreement as the two of them hoped into one of the boats. The rowers took their places and Clarisse watched as the isle of Berk began to shrink into the distance.

"We have to track her down!" Astrid shouted angrily as the other riders were discussing a plan of action. "She nearly killed out dragons, and could have killed us!" Hiccup could tell that if Clarisse and Astrid were ever in the same room, let's just say he wouldn't want to be caught in the middle of it.

"Astrid, we can't just charge into a pirate ship out of nowhere, that's stupid!" Snotlout argued. For once, Hiccup thought, Snotlout had a point.

"He's right, we can't just attack pirates on their own turf, that's where they would want to have a fight, where they're strongest. We wouldn't last ten minutes on that ship if we attacked" Hiccup explained. Astrid didn't look convinced,

"And besides, the Nightmare Moon is the fastest ship in the ocean, we couldn't follow them by boat, and by the time the dragons recover from the injuries Clarisse gave them, that ship would be long gone!" Astrid seemed to notice that Hiccup said the name Clarisse, and got what looked like a speck of jealousy in her eye.

"Clarisse?" she asked in an accusing voice, "How do you know her name?" she demanded. Hiccup hesitated for a moment before answering.

"it was written on her helmet" he replied. "And, since our dragons attacked her first, I don't think she was a threat, I mean for all we know she wasn't even a pirate at all" Hiccup explained to his friends. They seemed to understand that technically, Clarisse didn't do anything wrong. Their dragons did make the first attack, Clarisse just defended herself.

"So, you don't even know her, and you're already deciding to trust her?" Astrid snapped, getting some low ooohs from the twins. Hiccup sometimes got annoyed at Astrid's insecurity, but it was her greatest strength, so he often ignored it. But not right now he didn't.

"Astrid, you can't forget the fact that she saved my life, twice!" Hiccup held up two fingers to add to his point. "Why would she save me, if she is so untrustworthy?" he asked. At this she seemed to simmer down, Clarisse did save his life. He would either be a pile of bones in a wolf's den, or a red stain on the canyon floor if it weren't for Clarisse. He didn't even know why she saved him, maybe it was just human instinct or something, and he had no idea how she was able to do all of those incredible things. That girl saved his life, and Hiccup had to find out how, and why.

"Clarisse? Why the long face?" Asked the only other girl on the ship besides Clarisse's mother, Quinn. Clarisse stood in her usual quiet spot, on the wooden back of the carved Pegasus figurehead of the Nightmare Moon. Quinn clearly meant for her question to be a joke, so Clarisse ignored her. But Quinn asked again, this time with more sincerity. "Seriously though, you seem a little down in the dumps today, why?" Clarisse sighed and climbed out from her quiet place and onto the deck to answer Quinn.

"It's nothing, just tired from my hunt this morning" she lied. Quinn didn't look too convinced, but she just shrugged and went below deck to help Clarisse's mother with the repairs. Clarisse sighed and leaned against Spectrum defeated.

"This is all your fault, you know?" she said to him. He creaked as if to say, 'hey, I was in the village, but you just HAD to mess with that magic-mirror boy, didn't you?' uhhh, he WAS like the magic-mirror, he looked exactly like her! Right down to the scar on his chin, which was just down-right freaky! And it killed Clarisse to think about it. For her entire life she was content about her past and where she came from, who she was before her parents found her, why her birth parents didn't want her, why they hated her so much that they would through her into the sea without a second thought. It hurt to think about it too much, so Clarisse just leaned against the ship railing, looking forward to the wide open ocean. But she couldn't see anything beyond the dark, ominous storm clouds cutting off the ship's path. Clarisse squinted at the coming tempest, the clouds a dark grey that overshadowed the ocean surrounding Berk. In a perfect circle around the island the storm waited, waited for anyone to come through so the storm could rip it apart. Clarisse trembled with slight nervousness; this was going to be one heck of a night to get through.

Clarisse sighed and went below deck to her room. It wasn't much to look at; a single bed, wooden wardrobe, and average vanity. The real eye-catchers were what Clarisse wrote on her walls. Various words and quotes from poems, poets, or books, all coating her walls in black kohl paint. From William Shakespeare, to Homer, and even Edgar Allen Poe. Each quote and excerpt on her walls meant something to her, something deeper than the simple mind might see as just words on the walls, it all held something close to her heart. She silently read the writing on the wall while she undid her braids and combed through her brown hair with her bronze hair-brush. Spectrum walked silently into her room and flopped onto the floor with his head on Clarisse's bed.

"Spectrum, please tell me you didn't see that boy" Clarisse sighed as she began to tie her hair up again. Spectrum looked at her knowingly as if to say yes, he did see that boy, but he was just as stumped as she was. Clarisse looked at her reflection in the vanity mirror, thinking about how on earth that boy looked like she did? The resemblance was scary, same face, same hair, and Clarisse was 'this' close to losing her mind if she didn't stop thinking about it. "Come on boy, we need to get our minds off of this" Clarisse said as she finished tying up her choppy brown hair into its signature style; two large braids on the left side of her head, and one small braid cutting through the loose hair on the right side. Spectrum clicked his tongue in agreement and he and Clarisse trotted to the upper deck.

"Clarisse my little Babydoll, so nice of you to re-surface" Larson exclaimed happily as he was manning the helm. She smiled at her father and joined him at the wheel, noticing the devious sparkle in his eye that her mother explained as his excited face.

"Dad, what are you thinking?" Clarisse asked. Her father smiled, eyes dead ahead on the coming storm.

"That my dear, is what we must get through tonight, and as you know your father is in the adventure business, and…"

"Business is good" Clarisse finished for him, earning her a proud smile from Larson. He nodded once before barking orders at the crew to prepare for tonight's storm.

"Alright you scurvy dogs! All hands on deck, we must prepare for tonight! We've got a storm's ass to kick" Larson grinned to his daughter, which she gladly returned. But she felt one twinge of nervousness about the ominous storm, in all of Clarisse's life; she had never seen a storm so dark, and so vast. If her father was right, and they were going to, "Kick the storm's ass" then it was going to put up one hell of a fight.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 How long can a Draki hold its breath?**

For gods' sake it was sunny ten minutes ago! Let's back up a few minutes. Hiccup and the gang were discussing what to do about Clarisse, when shouts of panic were heard outside. They all rushed out to help, only to find that a hurricane had opened up on the village! It was chaos, the wind flew faster than Toothless on a good day; meaning the wind flew fast, rain drops the size of bricks hit the teens like a rock slide, and the sky was so dark it didn't even seem like day anymore.

"Where the heck did this come from?!" Astrid shouted over the roaring thunder. Honestly, Hiccup couldn't come up with an answer, less than ten minutes ago there wasn't a cloud anywhere, now it looked like end of days. His friends didn't wait for an answer, they all grabbed their dragons and hauled ass to get them out of the open. The arena seemed like the best option, everyone hurried to the arena to shelter their dragons from the storm.

The stalls in the training arena were cozy and dry enough for the dragons to be safe through the storm.

"We can't leave them alone, something could happen to them" Astrid realized. The others nodded in agreement. She did have a point, that storm came out of nowhere and was practically shredding everything that wasn't nailed down. It would have been best if someone stayed with the dragons through the night and made sure nothing happened.

"I'll stay here, man the fort till morning" Hiccup volunteered. A brief pause came from the other teens before they nodded in agreement; he knew most of them well enough by now to know that they didn't want to stay up all night in this tempest. The others raced through the storming streets to get to their separate homes, while Hiccup stayed behind with the dragons. Astrid pecked him on the cheek before adding,

"If I come back tomorrow and you're dead I will kill you." Again he didn't get her logic, but he smiled before she opened the arena doors the slightest bit and sprinting off into the storm. Hiccup sighed and leaned against Toothless in his stall, the night fury had a thoughtful look, as if something was on his mind.

"Something bothering you bud?" Hiccup asked. The dragon had been acting strange ever since what happened with Clarisse. When he must have come to and raced into the canyon to help Hiccup and his friends get back to the village, he seemed rather skittish and excited, like he'd just seen a ghost. Toothless just stared at the ground, deep in his thoughts. Hiccup shrugged and sat on the sandy ground with his back against the lazing dragon. Whatever Toothless was thinking about, if it was Clarisse, there was nothing to worry about, she was long gone, never coming back. For some reason that saddened Hiccup, she'd saved his life for no reason- twice- and he never even got to thank her. He sighed heavily and shut his eyes; listening to the roaring thunder and howling wind, letting it lull him to sleep.

"Morder, man the tiller and take us hard starboard!" Larson bellowed over the crashing thunder and snapping lightning. Clarisse was up on deck with the majority of the crew, her hair a tangled mess and her boots filled with water- rain and ocean. The storm hit them like a canon ball, they knew it was coming, they just didn't expect it to be this bad. The heavy rain and thundering waves crashed against the ship with each blow, knocking the crew off their feet. By some miracle, no man had yet been thrown overboard. Morder did as he was told and pulled the tiller to the left, redirecting the ship to avoid the rougher waters. Which at the moment were, everywhere!

"Dad, are we kicking the storm's ass yet?!" Clarisse shouted over the raging sounds of the ocean. Her father only laughed giddily before replying,

"Babydoll, god favors no man, but he routs for the ones who fight for their lives!" Larson cackled over the thundering rain. He hauled the helm of the ship to the right, struggling against the force of the ocean. "Go below deck to check on the others, and tell Quinn to come up here to help your ole-man!" Larson barked before Clarisse nodded and retreating to the safety of the lower deck. The dim light from the lanterns cleared her vision a small bit, having spent hours in the pitch blackness of the storm.

"Nice of you to join us!" Quinn exclaimed, handing Clarisse half a loaf of bread, and then sprinting up the stairs to take her place on deck. Clarisse whipped the water from her eyes with her sleeve, when her mother came up to her with a mug of water.

"How is everything up there?" Marie asked. Clarisse gulped down the water and tore into the bread like a wolf, just then realizing how hungry a storm can make you. The bread was fantastic! When Marie had stepped down from first-mate position to raise Clarisse, she had taken up the position of the cook, and she was rather gifted with it. And now that Clarisse was eighteen, she took the place of first-mate. It was exciting and the perfect adventure for a young pirate girl.

"It's insane up there, that storm is evil" Clarisse gasped between sips of water. Marie bristled slightly at her daughter's comment about the storm being evil, Clarisse immediately regretted her words. She'd hit a nerve in her mother, in a storm nearly identical to this one, Larson had told her about what happened a few nights before they found her as a baby. Marie had been pregnant, and in the midst of a storm, they'd lost the baby. It was the very reason for her middle name, Esperanza, meaning Hope. Marie took a deep breath before replying,

"Well, I think you've had enough evil for today, try to get some rest, Quinn can handle your place up on deck" Marie smiled. Clarisse took another sip of water from the cup before retreating to her room.

Spectrum was asleep with his head on Clarisse's lap, who was awake with a book in her hands. It was an old ratty copy of "The Odyssey." Of the many books in the story, this copy was book… 7? Whatever, it was still her favorite story. Nausicaa had just discovered Odysseus in the pile of leaves, when Clarisse's stomach dropped.

The ship lurched to the side, getting her attention and waking Spectrum. She set her book on her vanity and Spectrum followed her to the upper deck. It was about four AM in the morning, and the crew was working just as furiously as when she left two hours ago.

"Is that all you've got!" she heard her father shout. Larson was soaking wet and about to give out from exhaustion; Clarisse rushed to his side and held the right side of the helm to help him out. He smiled his gratitude to his daughter. Clarisse had un-did her braids and had forgotten to tie it back up, so her choppy hazel hair whipped around her shoulders like a fireball. The hiss of the rain stung in Clarisse's ears, and seemed to speak to her in whispered tones. No, really, she heard a voice in the storm, it was whispered, yet she heard it clear as day.

_"It has begun…"_ the voice whispered against the rain. The rest of the crew didn't seem to hear the female voice in the storm, so either Clarisse was hallucinating, or… or something I don't know! Clarisse couldn't see anything beyond the darkness of the storm, but she swore she could see the figure of a woman, in the midst of the darkness. Her gaze was torn away from the shadowy figure when the ship lurched violently to the side, throwing everyone off balance, and Clarisse against the railing. She blinked her eyes open in a daze, gripping her head as it throbbed. Quinn helped her to her feet, pure fear showing in her brown eyes.

"What is this!" she demanded. Clarisse could only stare in shock, her words refusing to work. Her father was frantically trying to help the crew to their feet, unaware of the helm spinning rapidly out of control! Clarisse made a b-line for the wheel, but was slammed to her feet again when a bolt of lightning struck the ship with enough force to burn a hole in the side.

"We're taking on water!" Quinn shouted frantically. Clarisse's vision was foggy and blurry; she struggled to get to her feet. When she could see well enough in front of her, what she saw almost made her heart stop. The ship was lurching and being thrown back and forth by the sea, or at least, her half of the ship. The lightning bolt had been strong enough to split the ship in two! The black sails were burning and it wouldn't be long before the rum caught fire. Clarisse took in her surroundings as quickly as she could, the upper deck had collapsed and Clarisse was in the splintering captain's quarters.

"Clarisse…" a voice croaked. Clarisse turned to see her mother Marie, trapped under a fallen beam.

"Mom!" Clarisse exclaimed as she rushed to try to help her mother. The beam weighed more than a ton, and even with her dragon strength, Clarisse couldn't lift it.

"Clarisse, Baby, I need you to go" Marie said with obvious effort. Clarisse looked in horror at her trapped mother, not accepting what she was asking her daughter to do.

"Mom no, I can get you out of this…"

"Baby no, you know it's no use, we'll both die if you don't go" Marie coughed up blood, the beam crushing her lungs. She pressed her palm to her daughter's face with tears in her eyes.

"You have all the everything you need. Now fight." Marie said before her eyes closed slowly and her hand dropped. Clarisse kissed her mother's forehead,

"I love you mom" Clarisse said before climbing up on the deck to get to her father.

The rain was slapping her in the face again as she made out the figure of Larson and the remainder of the crew. She couldn't hear his words, but he was making urgent gestures for her to run. It was utterly impossible; Larson was on the half of the Nightmare Moon that was severed from where Clarisse stood. But the look of urgency in his eyes fueled her courage; she had just lost her mother, and sure as hell wouldn't lose anyone else.

Clarisse took a deep breath, and began to sprint towards the edge of the deck. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed, and the world seemed to slow as Clarisse jumped off the wood surface. For a brief moment she was falling, and then slammed against the wood surface of the other side of the ship. But the ship lurched again and began to tilt; Clarisse began to slide off the edge, fear creeping into her mind.

"No, No, no, no!" she cried as she nearly fell into the darkness below. She would have died, but Larson, seemingly out of nowhere, grabbed her hand. Clarisse now dangled over the side of the ship, hanging on to her father for dear life. He began to pull her up, when another bolt of lightning struck what was left of the Nightmare. The force of the blast slammed against her father, knocking him down and making him loosen his grip on his daughter.

"Dad, dad, please!" she begged, though her couldn't hear her. Clarisse saw blood dripping from a deep wound in his head, he was gone.

"No, no..." Clarisse cried out as her father's dead hand let go of her, and again she was falling. Everything seemed to slow as Clarisse freefell through the stormy air, and hitting the icy water with a loud thud. Clarisse's eyes closed as she slid into unconsciousness, feeling tentacles wrap around her waist before everything went black.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 Snow White or the Magic Mirror**

Hiccup never had dreams growing up, he never knew why, and he never lost a wink of sleep over it. Not until now at least. One moment he was in the arena stall with Toothless and the other dragons, and he'd closed his eyes for a second. Next thing he knows he's in an alternate universe.

Hiccup didn't know where the heck he was, everything seemed blurry. And I mean Blurry, the only thing he could see clearly were his own hands in front of his face, and the night sky above his head. He blinked multiple times to try and see better, and it worked, at least a little bit. He could see that he was standing on a ship, not very large, but impressive just the same. Average sized mass, white sails, and in broad letters across the side: Amity.

Where did Hiccup know that name from? He knew he'd heard it before. His thoughts were then cut off by what he saw next. A burly man with a straggly reddish brown beard, his father. He looked at least ten years younger, and somehow… happier. Hiccup noticed the reason why, a woman about a head shorter than his father stood next to him, holding some kind of bundle in her arms. He smiled once he realized it was a baby, a small boy with forest green eyes.

This woman was Hiccup's mother.

Again, everything was incredibly blurry, so he couldn't see his mother's face- much to his disappointment. Hiccup noticed something else, a similar bundle that his father was holding with up-most care. Hiccup took a step forward for a closer look. He gasped when he saw it.

It was a baby girl.

The infant girl looked identical to the boy, except her eyes were the disturbingly familiar shade of emerald green. Hiccup blinked and stuttered with questions, not realizing his parents couldn't hear or see him. He shut up once he heard thunder rumbling behind him. His mother and father both got looks of pure fear in their eyes, holding the twins close. Hiccup turned to see a horrific storm approaching the Amity, he swore he heard whispers coming from the approaching tempest; all saying the same thing-

_"she's mine…"_

Hiccup turned again to see his mother retreating below decks with the twins and his father unsheathing his sword; his face stained with his usual look of determination, and an uncommon twinge of fear. The storm began to unleash its wrath upon the ship, and everything went black.

Hiccup opened his eyes again, this time surrounded by pitch blackness for miles. The only thing he could see was himself, and a woman standing in front of him.

The woman before him was beautiful. She looked a lot like him, you know, if he was ten years older… and a woman. She had long hazel brown hair, intricately and elegantly done, her cheeks perfectly blushed, and her lips a starry rose pink, and shining silver eyes that reminded Hiccup of the full moon. Her dress seemed to be made of a living and moving night sky, designs of stars and the infinite cosmos etched into the midnight blue fabric of her sure coat. Her dress seemed to be made of a midnight blue dragon skin, which freaked Hiccup out a little, but she made it work. Silver and opalescent jewelry complemented her ears, neck and belt. And a silver, jeweled crown sat atop her head, consulted by pearls, moonstones and dark blue sapphires. Neither one spoke for a while, until the woman spoke up, her voice calm and soothing like the sea at midnight.

"It has begun" she said. Though she was still and calm, Hiccup could hear the worry in her voice.

"What's begun, what is all of this?" Hiccup asked, gesturing to the blackness surrounding him. The woman took a deep breath before replying,

"I am sorry it had to be this way, but you have been chosen to fulfill a prophecy that has been sealed since the beginning of everything…" the woman trailed off.

"Okay wait a second, who are you? What are you talking about?" Hiccup demanded.

"My name is Luna, I am…" she trailed off, it sounded like she choked for a second, but she continued, "I, was the Queen of the night, I ruled beside my brother and his queen for many years, before my inner demons surfaced and I was overcome by darkness, my brother and sister managed to defeat me, but they lost their lives in the process."

Luna looked like she was about to cry, but she held back her tears and continued.

"When they died and moved on to paradise, I stayed behind, to warn the coming successors of the prophecy, you need to find your sister before _she_ does" Luna looked around frantically, she was running out of time.

"Before who finds her? Since when do I have a sister? Where is she?" Hiccup had more questions than answers. But already his vision of Luna began to blur.

"Go and find her when you wake up!" Luna glanced at the sun amulet around Hiccup's neck before adding, "Your amulet will help, she wears its counterpart, now go, find her before _she_ does!" Luna ordered before her image was ripped from Hiccup's mind and he jumped awake.

Hiccup was gasping for breath; he felt a cold sweat running down his face and neck. He puffed out his cheeks and ran a hand through his tussled hair, not believing what just happened! He had a sister; a twin! And she was close, he could feel it. He had to find her, he had to know if what Luna said was true. Hiccup quickly got to his feet; he couldn't hear the storm anymore so it must have passed. But something was wrong; he looked frantically around the stall for the night fury, who was nowhere to be seen. Where was Toothless?

Clarisse's eyes flung open, she immediately went into a coughing fit, hacking up water and maybe a few minnows. Her eyes stung from sea water, her face was dirty with ash and dirt, and her hair was a tangled mess, other than that she seemed fine. With a bit of effort she pushed herself to her feet, lowering her head at the remembrance of the events of last night. Her ship- her home- was gone, and her parents, everyone she knew was dead. It made her more angry than upset, they may have been pirates but they were still her family; they all died, so why was she the only one alive!? She kicked the damp sand in frustration, but then noticed the absence of one rainbow-scaled banshee.

"Spectrum!" Clarisse called. The sound of shuffling reached Clarisse's ears, she turned to face the source of the sound with hope in her eyes, only to find nothing. "Spectrum?" she called again, this time she did receive an answer, but not from her dragon.

The familiar set of green cat-eyes gazed at her curiously. The night fury. Hiccup's night fury. Clarisse frowned in his direction, then rolled her eyes and began to walk down the beach. Unfortunately, the night fury followed her. She decided to ignore it as she scavenged the beach for what remained of the Nightmare Moon. Supplies, bits of clothing, even bottles of rum were washed up on the beach from the shipwreck. Clarisse scoured for about an hour for Spectrum and the ship, when the night fury growled with urgency.

"What?"She snapped. It looked at her and then to a rock formation, then back to Clarisse. The fury leaped from rock to rock, and Clarisse decided to humor it. She followed him behind the boulders with an annoyed sigh, only to have her eyes widen in shock. The Nightmare Moon, or, what was left of it, was stranded in the endless sea of boulders. The remainder of the ship was lodged between two large rocks, and was completely in ruin. Clarisse quickly made her way over to the shambled vessel, the night fury close behind. Seeing her home like this made Clarisse angry, all the people she loved, besides Spectrum, were now gone. And the fact that she got to live angered her more. The night fury jumped around on fallen beams and broken furniture while Clarisse scavenged for her weapons. She managed to salvage a pound of gunpowder, a bottle of rum, fifteen of her dream pills- don't ask- a bag of apples, and her hand-cranked stun-gun. Along with the weapons on her back, she was well armed. Clarisse stuffed the supplies into a leather satchel and slung it over her shoulder.

The night fury stared at her curiously, thinking about how scary it was that this girl looked like his human. He walked up behind her and pressed his snout up against her palm; she flinched at first but smiled weakly and rubbed his nose.

"Thanks for finding my ship for me" she said. The fury nodded once in reply. "What do I call you?" Clarisse asked it. She mentally slapped herself for talking to a dragon and Mirror Boy's dragon no less! But the fury only opened his mouth to show his toothless gums.

"What?" Clarisse asked. The dragon only pointed to his open mouth with his paw. Clarisse raised her eyebrow questioningly. "Are you hungry or something, 'cause I don't have any food" she explained. The fury grunted in annoyance, then pointed at his toothless mouth again.

"Uh, you're surprised?" Clarisse guessed, "You're angry? You're scared?... you're playing charades with a dragon." She said the last part under her breath. The night fury only growled in annoyance,

"Well I don't know, you toothless gecko!" Clarisse snapped. The dragon then jumped up and pointed to her with his outstretched paw, as if saying 'that's it! That's my name!'

"What? Gecko?" the dragon growled again. "Toothless?" Clarisse guessed. He then jumped around excitedly, making Clarisse smile with amusement.

"Oh! You're name's Toothless." The dragon nodded once before submerging his head in broken wood pieces and dirt. Clarisse looked at Toothless in confusion, but smiled again when his head popped up again with her metal helmet in his jaws. He dropped it onto the ground and kicked it over to her. Clarisse smiled again before whipping the dragon slobber off of the helmet and slipping it over her face.

"What do you think? Too much?" she asked. Toothless shook his head no. "I can see why Hiccup keeps you around" Clarisse laughed before turning to walk away. She'd barley taken a few steps before she heard some pebbles move behind her. Clarisse whipped her head around to see Toothless sitting still, with a look that read 'wasn't me!' Clarisse unsheathed her sword, preparing for a fight.

Hiccup had woken up the other teens to look for Toothless, even though Snotlout and the twins were complaining the whole time. Saying things like:

"This couldn't wait until later!"

"It's too early for this Hiccup!"

Or the classic:

"A face this good-looking needs sleep Hiccup!" and it was Snotlout who'd said that part.

Never the less he ignored them. They'd searched for hours, looking everywhere Toothless could have gone, including Hiccup's house, the woods, even the cove, yet he was just… nowhere.

"We haven't checked the beach" Astrid added as they continued the search on foot. Hiccup nodded in agreement as the teens trekked down to the beach. Do to the storm the night before, lots of junk and wreckage washed up in with the tide. They found all sorts of junk, like broken bottles, wooden planks, Tuffnut even found a bottle of rum, to which Ruffnut slapped out of his hands.

Hiccup then heard a familiar growl coming from a cluster of boulders. It was faint, but he defiantly heard it; Toothless. He was about to sprint in that general direction, but he then heard a muffled female voice. Astrid came up behind him,

"What is it?' she asked. Hiccup put a finger to his lips telling everyone to be quiet. They all shut up and ducked behind a cluster of rocks to hide. There defiantly was someone talking to Toothless, and she sounded familiar, but who?

"What do you think? Too much?" the unknown girl asked. Then Hiccup remembered, Clarisse! Oh great! He thought, this girl beat him up, and managed to save his life twice. Well, at least he knew Toothless was okay.

Astrid however was steaming. This Clarisse girl beat up Stormfly, and nearly killed the other dragons. Yet she was a bit grateful for her saving Hiccup's life-twice- she was a little angry about that too. She didn't like the idea of some strange girl coming to her boyfriend's rescue-that was her job! And it was annoying how she was always wearing her helmet whenever Astrid saw her; she just wanted to see the girl's face- maybe make one of her green eyes a bit darker. And why was Hiccup so interested in her!? Every time he talked about her he had his thinking face on, which annoyed the heck out of her. I mean, what was SO important about this Clarisse girl anyway!? Astrid was so busy being angry that she didn't notice her clenched fist come down a bit too hard on a pile of pebbles. They clacked against one another and skittered into the sand. Astrid mentally shouted curses at herself for making noise, because Clarisse heard them. Clarisse pulled out her curved sword- which Astrid would never admit out loud, was pretty awesome.

"Who's there?" she demanded. Hiccup turned to Astrid, who winced when she saw that she moved the rocks and made noise. She only put a finger to her lips and silently told everyone to stay quiet.

"I know that you're there, you'd better come out now before I go 'Werewolf' on your ass and rip your heart out through your mouth!" Clarisse growled. I'm serious! She made a faint rumbling sound from deep in her throat. Hiccup then heard Toothless growl in protest at Clarisse's threat, and took this as an opportunity to make himself known. He gestured for Astrid and his friends to stay put, and he slowly walked out from the hiding spot. He saw Clarisse holding her sword, she looked about the same as she did yesterday; leather boots, armor, and dragon-skin shirt and mystery necklace, but something was off. Most of her hazel brown hair was undone and salty with ocean water, and her helmet was dented in some spots. She must have gotten caught in the storm, but her green eyes reflected pure anger, with a twinge of… fear?

"Do you have a death wish? Or are you just plain stupid?" she snapped. Hiccup was at a loss for words, what was it about this girl that threw him off? Clarisse turned her gaze to something behind him for a split second before returning to him. He would have turned to see whatever had her attention, but that was pretty hard when a girl holds a blade to your neck (he spoke out of experience; thanks a lot Astrid.) Hiccup locked eyes with Clarisse for at least a minute before he heard an ear splitting shriek.

Took him long enough! Clarisse thought as she saw Spectrum scream the teenagers out from their hiding place with his banshee scream. This time his shriek didn't stun them, just startled them enough to get them out in the open. She got a good look at the six teens in the light of day. Blondie was about her age with blonde hair tied up in a tight braid, and stormy blue eyes. She wore fur boots, a wooden skirt, red wool top with fur shoulder armor and matching gauntlets. Standing with her were four others, a muscular boy with dark hair, a boy and girl, both with long blonde hair; other than gender they looked pretty much the same, and a big guy with obvious fear in his face. Clarisse smirked devilishly at examining her opponents, she turned to the dragon-Toothless, with a look that struck fear into him and made him run off. Spectrum followed his example and took off after him.

Blondie pulled out an axe, and the dark haired boy swung a bola; taking his aim. Magic-Mirror boy/Hiccup unsheathed a sword of his own. Clarisse noticed it was coated with monstrous nightmare saliva so it would probably catch fire some point in the fight.

"Six attackers… no escape…" Clarisse smirked as she threw her leather satchel out of the way. Blondie took a step closer, right on the verge of striking. "How wonderful."

The dark haired boy was the first to strike, or at least try. Clarisse dodged his bola and punched him in the jaw, knocking him down. Blondie tried to come up behind her with her axe, but Clarisse saw her and summer-salted out of the way, planting a kick in Blondie's face in the process. Once Clarisse was at a good distance, she pulled out her tomahawk as the twins came at her. She sliced at the boy's knee and punched the girl in the nose, causing her to stumble backwards with a bloody nose. The boy just fell to the ground clutching his kneecap; Clarisse swung at him one more time to knock him out, which worked. But Thing 2 wasn't done with her yet, she dumbly charged at her with a hammer raised above her head, ushering a pretty annoying battle cry. Clarisse easily dodged her and grabbed her by the leg and pushed her down, snapping her right leg to the side. Hearing a satisfying crack, Thing 2 passed out from the pain; Clarisse broke her leg in case you were wondering. Blondie was getting to her feet, axe held high and about to charge. Clarisse glared and pulled out her whip, she lashed it at the blonde girl, it coiled around the hilt of her axe and Clarisse threw it out of reach. She winded up and threw her tomahawk, the weapon slicing through the air with a small whistle before it hit Blondie in the shoulder. She fell back clutching her arm with a pain-filled expression and pure anger in her eyes. Clarisse turned her attention back to the dark haired boy, who obviously didn't learn from observation. He threw his bola in Clarisse's direction, who quickly drew her sword and held the blade up. The special blade was sharp enough, and Clarisse was quick enough, to slice through the rope of the bola and make it nothing but a pile of cut rope on the ground. The boy stared with his mouth hanging open at what remained of the bola. Clarisse sheathed her sword and leaped in a swan-dive position up behind the boy, flipping up and kicking him in the groin; hard. He doubled over in pain; Clarisse grabbed a hand-full of his dark hair,

"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to fight a girl?" she smirked before back kicking him in the face. He was pushed back against the rocks by Clarisse's kick. The big guy looked absolutely terrified.

"Boo" Clarisse hissed before the boy fainted, hitting the ground with a thud. Now unconscious, it looked like everyone was out of the game, all except one: Mirror Boy.

Unbelievable, twice in two days! Clarisse was terrifyingly amazing, but all of that amazement disappeared as Hiccup saw her coming near him with her sword. Her amazingly detailed, curved, Sharp, sword. Hiccup pushed himself up against the rocks, trying to think of a way out of this, but unlucky enough for him, Toothless was scared of this girl and had run off. and all he had was his sword: Inferno, coated with monstrous nightmare saliva, it can catch fire and not heat up the metal blade. But since it seemed that Clarisse was immune to fire and master with a sword ten times better than him, he doubted it would be much help. She stopped at least four feet in front of him, sword drawn, ready to strike. Hiccup just stared into her forest green eyes, eyes that seemed so… familiar. The memory was on the tip of his tongue as Clarisse raised her sword to kill him. Hiccup closed his eyes and prepared to meet his end, but it never came.

Astrid had been on the ground with a miniature axe in her shoulder when she saw that Clarisse was in front of Hiccup with her blade drawn. I have to help him! She screamed in her mind. Astrid, with great effort, yanked the axe from her shoulder with a painful yelp. She looked at the weapon in her hand, Hiccup would appreciate craftsmanship like this, she thought. It was a cool weapon. Metal handle, leather grip, iron blade that was well sharpened, leather string to help keep the blade in place, and a small heart hollowed through the metal blade. But she was getting unfocused. Astrid crawled over to where Clarisse had thrown her satchel, and trying very hard to ignore the pain in her shoulder, Astrid started to rummage through the leather bag. She got frustrated when she didn't find anything useful, a few apples, a bottle of rum, and just pieces of junk!

Astrid's eyes froze on some kind of strange contraption. It looked like a coil of thick metal wire between two metal tongs. She looked at it curiously; the wire was connected to a small loop, so it was supposed to be used by hand. Astrid took some of the wire in her hand and yanked back, causing the wire to spin rapidly and small sparks of electricity to shock her hand a little. But she hardly noticed, she had an idea!

Astrid pulled back and forth on the metal wire rapidly, building up a fairly strong electric charge. Once she was sure the shocker was ready, she got to her feet and sprinted towards Hiccup. Clarisse had raised her sword to deliver a killing strike, but she never did. Before she could even touch Hiccup, Astrid drove the shock gadget into her side. The electric shock was charged even more by Clarisse's helmet and armor. When Astrid pulled the gadget away, Clarisse fell to the ground unconscious. Hiccup just stared up in awe at her, or more specifically, the weird electric shock gadget.

"I like her toys" Astrid said holding up the weird thing. She tossed it to Hiccup, who immediately began to inspect it. With an angry grunt, Astrid kicked Clarisse's unconscious body onto her back. The others began to stir,

"Alright you lazy bones, get up!" Astrid ordered. It took Ruffnut and Tuffnut some help to get to their feet, since Clarisse sliced into Tuffnut's knee and broke Ruffnut's right leg. Snotlout just groaned his complaints,

"I had the weirdest dream about a hot girl who beat me up" he groaned as he sat up holding his chin. Which thanks to Clarisse's back kick, was starting to bruise.

"Let's see who's under that mask" Astrid smirked, she bent down and pulled Clarisse's helmet off her head. Her hazel brown hair fell against the damp sand, revealing her face.

Hiccup just stared in stunned silence at the girl before him. Long hazel brown hair that was choppy and tussled, oval shaped face, and light traces of freckles, faint scar on her chin, she…

"She looks just like me!" Hiccup muttered under his breath. He thought back to the message Luna gave him, something about his amulet's counterpart. Hiccup gently grabbed the iron chain around Clarisse's neck and pulled it up to see the pendant. It took his breath away; an iron crescent moon with a crescent-shaped midnight-blue moonstone. He looked down at his own amulet; the sun, and back to Clarisse's; the moon.

"Whoa does she need CPR, 'cause I So know CPR" Tuffnut said. Astrid shot him a glare. Everyone was obviously thinking the same thing; okay maybe not everyone, but you have to understand that the twin's are idiots.

"Where did she come from?" Astrid asked, looking for an answer no one knew.

"Whoa, Hiccup has a twin, cool!" Snotlout said.

"And she tried to kill him, that's hilarious!" Ruffnut laughed.

Hiccup was so deep in thought that he didn't even notice the twins messing around. He only just found out he has a sister, a twin for Thor's sake! But he never would have guessed it to be the girl who in the past two days, saved his life, and tried to kill him!

"Hiccup? What do we do?" Astrid asked, snapping him back into reality. Hiccup thought about how to get her back to the village as quickly as possible, then it hit him.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 A twin!? Now I've seen everything**

Hiccup was thinking of how to get Clarisse back to town a quickly as possible, and then it hit him! A pair of rainbow scaled horse legs came out of nowhere and kicked him in the side. He hit the sand with a thud, how many times was he going to get beat up today!?

The rainbow horse/fish dragon reared up protectively in front of Clarisse, anger flashing in its sea green eyes. The others took the hint and back away from the dragon, careful not to get hit by its leathery wings in the process. Hiccup managed to get to his feet without falling, his metal leg clicking into place. He gestured for his friends to back farther away from the horse/dragon/fish/whatever, so he could approach it. He walked towards the dragon and Clarisse as slowly and calmly as he could. The dragon saw him trying to come near him and it made a weird croaking sound that I guess was his form of growling.

"It's okay, it's okay" Hiccup repeated. This is where the dragon started to look confused. It got a good look at Hiccup, and it kept looking at him, then at Clarisse, then Hiccup, and back again. It must have noticed the scary resemblance between them.

"You're okay, I'm a friend" he said calmly as he was close enough to touch the dragon's nose. The dragon growled a little again, but Hiccup didn't back down; twin sister or not, Clarisse needed help. That shock device could have seriously hurt her or worse. With one final step, Hiccup rubbed the dragon's horse nose reassuringly. Its snout was slimy and it was gross to touch, but Hiccup didn't dare move his hand away. It sniffed at him curiously, eventually finding the emergency-eel in Hiccup's suit of armor that he brought with him in case of an emergency. Hiccup nearly panicked, he knew how much dragon's hated eels (heaven knows why.) but the dragon didn't look angry or disgusted, it looked… ecstatic! It snapped up the eel in its jaws and gobbled it down with its razor sharp shark teeth. Once it finished the eel; much to everyone's surprise, it rubbed up against Hiccup making what sounded like purring. He had it's trust now, Hiccup did a mental victory flip before patting the dragon's slimy horse head.

"Yah, you're a good girl…" the dragon then snorted angrily at Hiccup, getting dragon snot in his eyes. "Boy, sorry" he corrected himself while whipping the dragon snot from his eyes and bending down to pick up Clarisse's still unconscious body. The dragon lowered himself onto his knees, and Hiccup carefully set Clarisse on his back. He gave the dragon a pat on his slimy horse neck before asking,

"So, anyone know a shortcut back to town?"

Clarisse made a mental note to punch Blondie in the face next time she saw her. How dare she use Clarisse's own stun-gun to knock her out!? Alright, I know you guys want to know why Clarisse tried to kill Mirror Boy. Clarisse was so sick and tired to this guy sticking his nose where it doesn't belong! He'd nearly gotten her killed by Viking teenagers, dragons, and almost dragged her off a cliff! She realized she practically had a twin, lost her parents, and the only life she'd ever had! Of course she's P. at this guy, of course she'd want to give him a little slice across the face! But let's go back a bit.

Clarisse remembered almost taking a stab at Mirror Boy/Hiccup, when she felt like she got struck by lightning! It was the middle of the day so lightning was out of the question, so the only other logical answer was Blondie got a hold of her hand-cranked stun-gun- and figured out how to use it. She tried to remember what happened, but it was still kind of fuzzy. She remembered getting zapped by her hand-cranked stun-gun, and then it went black.

Hiccup, with some help from the horse/dragon, had gotten Clarisse to his house and set her up in his room. He'd asked Astrid to clean her up and keep an eye on her until she woke up. Unfortunately, he had to explain to his dad that he found himself a twin. He told his father everything that he knew about Clarisse, excluding the details about his dream about Luna and the matching amulets they wore, and the fact that she was a pirate. It was killing Stoick not to see his thought-to-be-dead daughter, but she did get electrocuted, and a giant Viking claiming to be her father might freak her out. Stoick had been at a loss for words when his son walked through the door with Clarisse's limp body in his arms, he just stared at her like she was the most precious thing in the world to him, and Hiccup knew why. He had asked his dad how she was lost, and he decided to finally tell him everything. How when Clarisse was born she hadn't even been named before she was lost. Stoick had been heartbroken when they lost her but at least he still has his beloved wife and son. Unfortunately, not long after their return to Berk off the Amity, Hiccup's mother had been taken by dragons and was also lost.

"Son, your mother and I, were so happy to have you and your sister…" his voice trailed off. Hiccup knew this must be hard for him, Stoick almost Never talked about Hiccup's mother, and when he did he would always get irrationally angry and storm off. But not this time.

"Dad, what happened to my sister?" Hiccup asked as gently as he could, he knew how short-tempered his father could be, just one slip of the tongue could set him off. Stoick grimaced as if it hurt to remember, but he continued,

"We were caught in a storm; your mother had you and your sister below deck, but something went wrong…

We tried everything we could, but your sister was lost to the storm, we never saw her again" Stoick explained. Hiccup sensed his dad's anger, sadness, and guilt all rolled into one, so he decided to carefully tend to the wounds.

"But, she's alive, and with us now, we won't lose her again dad, I swear" Hiccup saw his father smile a bit.

"Let me know as soon as she wakes up, I want to be the first to know" his father ordered before walking out of the house to attend to his chief's-work. Hiccup started up the stairs to his room, mentally crossing his fingers that Clarisse was awake.

Astrid wasn't thrilled to get stuck with watching Clarisse while she was unconscious. But I guess it was technically her fault, not that she'd ever admit it. She had been nice enough to wash the mud, sand, and salt water from Clarisse's long hair, treat the burns she got from Astrid using her shock-thingy, and wash the grime off her still face. It was annoying yet terrifying how much this girl and Hiccup looked alike, same hair, same face, same faint scar on the chin, and the same gift with dragons! It was insane! But they did have a few notable differences, like how Clarisse had both of her legs, and Hiccup wasn't a girl… Astrid didn't notice that Clarisse blinked open her eyes for a brief moment before shutting them again, her vertical pupils thinned to a point. Astrid took the wet cloth from Clarisse's head to get her a fresh one, she set the cold cloth on her forehead when Clarisse lashed out and grabbed Astrid by the wrist, her sharp nails digging into her skin.

"What are you doing?" she growled, dragon eyes clearly visible. Astrid tried to loosen her grip on her arm, but Clarisse only dug her nails in deeper.

"Your face was filthy so I cleaned you up, now let go!" Astrid demanded. Clarisse rolled her eyes and let go of Astrid's arm. Astrid rubbed her wrist, thin claw marks visible where Clarisse scratched her. For the first time, Clarisse seemed to notice that she was no longer wearing her helmet. She ran a hand through her hazel hair and puffed out her cheeks- wow, even she and Hiccup's nervous habits were the same!

"So, I guess there's no point in stating the obvious" she said as she got to her feet, walking around the room.

"Yah, the resemblance is pretty scary" Astrid sighed. Clarisse stopped at Hiccup's desk, looking at different sketches of his countless contraptions. Clarisse turned back to her with a familiar smile; it was the same as Hiccup's which irritated her a little bit. With that similarity, Astrid noticed another, Clarisse had the green eyes that could only belong to a Haddock. Her eyes had softened and her human-eyes had returned, it seemed that her dragon side was more of a defense strategy.

"Yah it is, so where is Mirror-Boy?" Clarisse asked with a devilish smirk that was NOT like Hiccup at all.

"Oh he's…"

"Here" said Hiccup as he entered the room. He locked eyes with Clarisse a brief second before she flashed him a deadly glare. What was her problem? Astrid thought. Then she remembered, where they'd found Clarisse, there had been a horrible ship-wreck, bodies littered the destroyed vessel. And Clarisse was a pirate, that must have been HER ship! And now she was blaming Hiccup for it! Before Astrid could jump to his defense and break the awkward silence, Clarisse did it for her,

"So, what did you do with my stuff?" she asked. Astrid glanced at Clarisse's empty gun holster, axe, sword, and dagger sheath. She looked so, plain without her museum of weapons. Hiccup pointed his thumb at the nightstand, which held everything Clarisse was found with. She walked over to it and began to sort through her items, Astrid had to admit, but never out loud, it was a pretty cool assortment. A sword, a dagger, a whip, that small axe that had been lodged in her shoulder, two loaded pistols, and a crossbow that looked like it was used for more than just shooting arrows. The bow was fairly sophisticated; two small bows stacked on top of one another to shoot arrows back and forth continuously, and magnificent detail in the handle and trigger.

"So…" Hiccup said, trying to break the tension, "Do you want to go outside?" his question seemed to anger her,

"Do I look like a house pet to you!? I'll go wherever I want whenever I want, got it!" she spat, her pupils were thin lines in her dark green irises. Hiccup nodded nervously.

"Look miss "Pirate Damsel" we get that you don't trust us, and believe me the feeling is mutual, but we could have thrown you into a prison cell, instead we helped you, so the least you could do in return is not be such a witch!" Astrid did Not say witch. Clarisse's gaze softened just a little, which wasn't much, but she seemed to get that Hiccup and Astrid were only trying to help. Her dragon eyes faded and she was Hiccup's twin again, more or less.

"Alright, I guess you could have killed me, I did try to kill you…" her voice trailed off as she slung her leather satchel over her shoulder, confirming that everything was in order.

"But you also saved my life, twice! And I guess now I know why" Hiccup explained, pointing a finger at his face, making Clarisse flash her devilish smile. It did seem to make sense, Clarisse saw his face back in the canyon, and she must have realized the resemblance and decided to help her twin out.

"But, to answer your, irritating question, I would enjoy knowing where I am, I've never really been an indoor girl" she said. Hiccup could tell her smile was an act, he could see past Clarisse's fake hospitality, and saw her anger and fury boiling beneath. But what was she so angry about? Then he remembered, that ship. The Nightmare Moon had been destroyed, and so far, Clarisse was its only salvage. No wonder she hated him so much, she'd just lost everything, and now Hiccup had practically kidnapped her.

"This way" he said as he gestured for Clarisse to follow him down the stairs. She took a cautious glance at Astrid before following him.

She followed him to the top of the stairs before turning and walking towards the window as quiet as a mouse.

"And, what do you think you're doing?" Astrid asked with her eyebrow raised and her arms crossed. Clarisse ignored her and pulled the window open, swinging her legs out the opening and climbing onto the roof.

"Honestly Blondie, you have no sense of fun at all" Clarisse smirked before shutting the window behind her and running off along roof-tops. Astrid glared in Clarisse's direction, her fists clenched in tight wads. It didn't take an expert to realize that Astrid immediately hated Clarisse, and to be honest, the feeling was mutual between them. And I guess when you think about it, they did have multiple scores to settle;

I guess it started when Clarisse threw a fire-ball at her

Then beat up Stormfly,

Then it went to Clarisse lodging a tomahawk in Astrid's shoulder, which at the moment throbbed like a b****!

And ending with Astrid electrocuting her. Honestly I've lost track of the reasons for them hating each other, but I'm getting off track.

Like Clarisse told Blondie, she wasn't an indoor girl. She proved that to her parents multiple times by seeking out little adventures in her childhood. It was the same principle as she stood on Hiccup's roof, taking in her surroundings and smelling the crisp icy air. A smile curled upon her lips and her vision sharpened, her pupils thinning and her dark green irises turning sharp and glassy. Her dragon side was out, and like her dad always says… excuse me, sad part my bad, like her dad always USED to say, sometimes it's okay to let the genie out of the bottle every now and then. She thought of those words with the up most confidence and fearlessness as she strode across the shingled roof-top, her heeled boots click-clacking against the roof. Clarisse gladly ignored the odd looks given to her as she walked, probably thinking:

"What on earth is that girl doing on the roof?"

"Why does she look so unafraid, doesn't she know she could fall?"

_Whatever_, Clarisse silently replied, continuing her stride. Her trade-marked smile was curled into a playful smirk as she wound up like a spring and jumped.

She landed on all fours on the next roof over, jumping down an alleyway, her dragon like nails scratching into the wood like claws as she slid to the ground, landing perfectly on her feet. She broke into an adrenaline filled run, quickly climbing up onto another roof and continuing her roof-running. She leapt quickly and gracefully from house to house, roof to roof, completely fearless like she was all the time thanks to her dragon's blood.

Clarisse landed in an awkward position but fixed it by summer salting back onto her feet and jumping back and forth between walls, taking a final swan-dive leap off of the tall structure and onto the next.

She positioned herself in a cat-like crouch on one of the smoking chimneys, the smoke masking and hiding her face as more villagers stared up in awe at her abilities. Clarisse lunged again onto a roof, this time swinging her body up onto a horizontal pole and running across it in perfect balance, the pole was rusted and eventually snapped, but Clarisse easily slid down onto another roof-top. As if she expected it to happen. She once again landed on all fours, running like a wolf on the shingled roofs, jumping and leaping like a dragon.

She paused to take a look at the giant structure about a mile in front of her; it looked like a big arena.

_Perfect, Spectrum ought to be in there for sure, probably budding up to Hiccup._ Clarisse thought with a smirk. She sprung out of her stillness and flipped through the air, landing in a roll and stopping in the crouched position.

Clarisse stood on her legs and walked confidently up to the big arena doors. She pressed her ear up against the wooden double doors, hearing a familiar set of voices.

"That's it, slow and steady Hookfang, you don't want to tear it again" Hiccup said encouragingly. Clarisse smiled to herself, he was talking to the monstrous nightmare that smacked Clarisse around like a rag-doll. Though she did feel a little bad, though not much, for slicing into his wing. But on the up-side, it wasn't fatal, so he'd be fine as long as he stayed grounded for at least a week. Clarisse grew bored with eavesdropping and opened the heavy doors enough for her to get inside without being seen or heard, which was just how she liked it. Clarisse had a natural gift for sneaking up on people and scaring the life out of them, it was a guilty pleasure.

Clarisse snuck around in the shadows cast in the arena, silently watching as Hiccup trained with the monstrous nightmare, Hookfang I think it was, to start breaking in his wing without tearing it too deep in the process. But, Hookfang was lagging his left foot around, since it was his left wings that Clarisse tore, he must be going lame in his leg. He would have to stay on it for a while, keep it strong so when he started flying again, his leg wouldn't give out from under-working it. Clarisse sighed with defeat and pity and walked silently up behind Hiccup, him not noticing her presence.

"His left leg is lazing, he needs to keep it broken in or he could go lame" Clarisse said suddenly, breaking the silence and startling Hiccup. He jumped in surprise, but Clarisse just rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in annoyance.

"What?" Hiccup asked. Clarisse uncrossed her arms and gestured to Hookfang,

"His left leg is lagging a bit, he needs to keep it active or he could go lame" she explained. Hiccup followed her eyes to Hookfang's leg, she was right, if he kept holding his leg back like that he could get lame and his wing wouldn't heal as fast without flying.

"Huh, you're right" he replied. Clarisse nodded once and turned her gaze to the other riders in the arena. She remembered them from the last couple of days, Thing 1 walked with a limp, and his sister, Thing 2, walked with a crutch. Clarisse chuckled slightly at the remembrance of her slashing Thing 1's knee and breaking Thing 2's leg. She also spotted Big Guy and Bola Boy, she looked at them and Big Guy cowered and hid behind his gronkcle, and Bola Boy just glared in her direction, as if he was going to send her running.

Clarisse had a natural gift for reading people. For example, Hiccup seemed like the type of person who never really followed orders, but at the same time the type of person who could never have the heart to kill, with a good spirit and some sense of bravery. Or how Blondie was pretty, but had a strong sense of independence and was VERY insecure, she seemed like the type of girl who shot first and asked questions later.

She smirked in Bola Boy's direction and turned back to Hiccup, who was having Hookfang run with more pressure on his left leg, which was back to normal in minutes.

"Thanks, you were right about his leg, it should be fine now" he explained.

"Glad I could help" Clarisse replied. "Oh and sorry about what happened with them" she said while gesturing to the other riders. Hiccup looked at his friends with expecting eyes, like he was silently telling them to be nice.

Blondie eventually arrived at the arena with her deadly nadder, her glare burning into Clarisse the whole time Hiccup worked with Hookfang. In no time his wing was stitched up, but he would have to stay grounded for a while.

"So, let's meet everyone" Hiccup suggested as Clarisse followed him with her arms crossed. He led her over to his friends, the first one who he introduced her to was Blondie, the girl who stunned her.

"You've already met Astrid" he said. Blondie, err, Astrid, also had her arms crossed. She didn't seem at all happy about Clarisse being near her dragon, but her gaze softened when Clarisse scratched Stormfly under her chin the way she liked. The nadder purred and pressed her nose to Clarisse's hand, who pet her back.

"Sorry I stunned you" she said finally. Clarisse shrugged like it was nothing,

"Happens all the time." Somehow Astrid didn't have a hard time believing that.

"Anyway," Hiccup continued, he introduced Clarisse to everyone. Including Things 1 and 2, who she now knew as the twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut. Big guy, or Fishlegs, and Bola Boy: now known as Snotlout. Clarisse smiled devilishly, remembering she nearly cut Tuffnut's leg off, the bandages wrapped around his leg soaking through a little with blood.

"What's wrong Tuff-guy, don't like a girl who can knock you on your butt" she said playfully. Ruffnut snickered in reply.

"For the record, you didn't, I had something in my eye, and it distracted me" Tuffnut said, shooting his sister a glare and trying to play it cool. Clarisse smirked again, this time flicking a tuft of his blond hair out of his face,

"Yah, it was tears from that little paper-cut I gave you" she smiled her devilish smile that Tuffnut found annoyingly attractive. Now don't get the wrong idea, he did not like her at all! He didn't like her demonic attitude, or her mischievous smirk, or her choppy hazel hair, or the way she could take a punch, or her pretty eyes, or the way she could easily kick his dragon's butt or… no, No! He refused to be attracted to this girl; she beat him up, and injured his dragon. Plus she wasn't his type anyway.

Clarisse laughed and went to stand next to Hiccup again, who was looking at her questioningly.

"Oookay, well, you've met the riders, let's meet the dragons, like, right now" he said awkwardly. His night fury who Clarisse remembered as Toothless.

"This is…"

"Toothless" Clarisse finished for him. Hiccup and everyone else looked at her with slight shock.

"How did you…?"

"It wasn't that hard, I guessed it over a, very weird game of charades" Clarisse explained. Everyone just shrugged and Hiccup moved on to the deadly nadder.

"This is Stormfly, she's as stubborn as her rider" Hiccup joked. Astrid returned it by punching him in the arm. He flinched and rubbed his arm mouthing "Ow!" making Clarisse laugh.

Next was the zippleback: Belch and Barf, weird, but cool.

Then the monstrous nightmare: Hookfang, who was still a bit mad at Clarisse for slicing his wing, but he purred like a kitten when she scratched behind his ears.

Finally the gronkcle: Meatlug, who was just as afraid of Clarisse as her rider Fishlegs. And to be honest Clarisse didn't really care, as long as the dragon didn't try to bite her head off.

At that moment a familiar flash of rainbow scales tackled Clarisse to the ground. Everyone was on their feet in a second, the twins looking excited that there could be a fight. Clarisse only laughed happily as she pushed Spectrum off.

"Spectrum, down boy, you crazy…" she trailed off when Spectrum growled in the direction of Hiccup's friends. I guess because Spectrum and they didn't exactly make good impressions on each other.

"Relax, he's nothing but a big softy" Clarisse smiled as she scratched Spectrum behind his ears and he purred while swishing his tail around like a big cat. Hiccup seemed perfectly relaxed, since Spectrum practically worshipped him for giving him the eel. The others however didn't look too sure, after all, Spectrum did almost blow their brains out with his shriek.

"This is Spectrum" Clarisse introduced. Spectrum creaked in reply, his tail swishing back and forth as he relaxed. The other riders eventually put their weapons away and everyone calmed down, at least a little bit.

"I've never seen a dragon like him before, what kind is he?" Hiccup asked. Clarisse patted Spectrum on the neck and ran her hand through his fishy mane before answering.

"He's a pretty rare breed, a Wailing Banshee, their sacred in Egypt and India, in some cultures their thought of as gods and such. I guess it's because of their voices which you guys have already experienced" Clarisse explained. She blew some strands of her choppy hazel hair out of her eyes, her slightly chaotic smile curling on her mouth. The others weren't very amused; Hiccup assumed they were acting like this because Clarisse beat them all up, including their dragons.

"Don't really remember caring" Tuffnut muttered. Clarisse shot him a murderous look before batting her lashes innocently,

"Oh baby, I don't remember asking for your opinion, did I? No? So shut up!" she growled. The look in her eyes was so confident and fearless, Tuffnut could only stare, not saying a word and shutting up.

"Alright, look, I know you all hate me, I have to agree I'm straight up: loath-able yo, but, this whole day has been…" she stole a glance at Hiccup then continued, "All in all the weirdest experience of my life. But, if I don't assimilate, I have no purpose, and I Hate having no purpose. So what do you awesome losers say? Do-over?"Clarisse then did something no one would have expected: she smiled, and not her regular, chaotic, devilish, playful smirk, it was Hiccup's smile. The stupid, goofy, lovable smile that everyone in Berk loved. It was as if for that moment, she wasn't the untrustworthy, loath-able pirate everyone hated: she was Hiccup's twin: his sister.

"Let me start," Clarisse began, "I am, Clarisse Esperanza Merrill, and it's a pleasure to meet you" she said with the up-most politeness. The others hesitated for a moment. Astrid was the first to step forward. She still looked at Clarisse with a fleck of hatred, but, she held out her hand to shake. Clarisse took her hand and they shook on the deal.

"I still hate you" Astrid smirked.

"The feeling is mutual." They shared a laugh and the others joined in. everyone smiled with defeat, deciding to start over with Hiccup's twin. He gave her a pat on the back, she could have snapped at him, but she let it go. Tuffnut, being one of the two stupid, arrogant, asses that lived on Berk, slung his arm over Clarisse's shoulders and flashed a sly grin. Clarisse did loath this boy, she focused her power on her shoulders, and in seconds Tuffnut jerked his arm away, fresh burns forming on his arm and smoke rolling off his sleeve.

"You are literally, smoking hot" he laughed, rubbing his arm.

"I loathe you" she hissed.

"I Loathe you" he snapped back. They growled in each other's directions before Hiccup herded Clarisse away from Tuffnut before she literally tore into him.

"How do you do that?" Astrid asked.

"Do what?"

"The thing you do with the fire, you can control it." Clarisse sighed, she thought they already knew about that and understood it, but I guess she was wrong.

"It's an… ability, that I posses along with a few other traits" Clarisse hesitantly explained while creating red sparks that hopped along her finger-tips.

"Like what?" Hiccup asked. Clarisse locked eyes with him, sensing his curiosity, his need for knowledge; like she was three years ago, but more on that later.

"I'll tell you guys later, right now, I'm kind of pre-occupied" she explained.

"With what?" Fishlegs questioned. Clarisse rolled her eyes; these teens asked a lot of questions.

"I need to get back down to the beach and salvage what I can from my ship, then we'll talk" Clarisse said as she adjusted the strap on her satchel and began to walk off.

"We'll go with you" Astrid offered,

"We will?" Fishlegs said with a slight whimper.

"You will?" Clarisse replied, crossing her arms with doubt.

"Yah, why not? The sooner we get done salvaging your ship, the sooner we can hear about your fire powers and all that other stuff you can do" Hiccup explained. Clarisse considered her options: A) searching the wreck of the Nightmare Moon alone and take hours to get done, or B) let the teen help and get done in less than an hour.

"Fine" she reluctantly agreed. The others smiled gratefully. They seemed excited to come and explore a ship-wreck, but Clarisse had her thoughts straight.

Hiccup smiled at his twin, she locked eyes with him for a moment before turning back to her banshee dragon-Spectrum. Cool name, Hiccup thought.

Spectrum turned his hoof up so Clarisse could mount him. The other riders mounted their dragons as well and everyone took off towards the beach. Hiccup mentally smacked himself while in the air on Toothless; he'd forgotten to tell his dad that his sister was awake. Oh well, he thought. He'd tell him at dinner tonight. He glanced ahead at Clarisse riding the graceful banshee, her hazel locks now tied into an elegant yet functional style: two large braids on the left side of her head, and a small braid cutting through the loose hair on her right side. His eyes dropped to her necklace, the crescent moon seemed to look directly at him, sapping his courage and corrupting his judgment. He thought to the message Luna had given him, she was right about his twin sister being alive and in Berk, but she also said something else:

_"Find your sister before **She **does!" _The pure fear in her voice had been enough to convince Hiccup. If this _"She_" was after his sister after he'd JUST gotten her back from the dead, (figuratively speaking) then he wanted to protect her, even if she seemed more than capable of protecting herself. Plus, it's not like she would even want his help. He saw it in her eyes when she looked at him; it wasn't shock or fear, it was reluctance. He understood that this was a lot to take in, he understood her hesitant attitude towards him. But she was still his only sister, and he just found her, he wasn't going to lose her again.


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 Things even you didn't know**

Hiccup flew up next to Clarisse while they were all in the air. Her eyes were crystal and her pupils were thinned in their dragon-mode.

"So, how long were you a pirate?" Hiccup asked, trying to break the tension. Clarisse glanced at him with a raised eyebrow before answering with a sigh,

"I was raised on the Nightmare Moon, it was my home. My parents met on that ship, they fell in love on that ship, and my unborn sibling was lost on that ship…" Hiccup looked up at her on that last part, but she ignored him and continued.

"The Nightmare was my life, and thanks to that god-forsaken storm, I lost everything" she realized she'd said too much to him and stopped talking. Hiccup looked at her with pity in his eyes, Clarisse noticed and glared at him,

"Don't do that!" she snapped.

"Do what?" Hiccup said, not understanding why she was angry.

"Don't look at me like I'm some limping hatchling, I don't need anyone's pity" she snapped.

"You just told me you lost everything, your home, your parents, and your life! That doesn't make you the least bit upset?" Hiccup snapped back. Clarisse's dragon's glare bore into his green eyes for another moment before she looked down at her hands,

"I am upset, but mostly angry, good people were on that ship, good pirates, they all died and I got to live, that's why I'm more angry than sad Hiccup" she ended the conversation with her eyes locked ahead of her, avoiding the green eyes of her twin. Hiccup decided to drop it and continue onward.

The beach looked the same as It did yesterday; damp sand, ship parts and belongings lodged in the beach, and some planks of rotting wood drifting in and out with the tide. Clarisse landed gracefully on a smooth rock just outside the wreckage. The ship, though damaged severely and broken in half, was amazingly crafted. Black sails, dark wooden structure, and the magnificent pegasus figurehead that at the moment was decapitated.

"Wow" Hiccup breathed, taking in the sight of the shipwreck. Clarisse sighed sadly, as if remembering good things about the Nightmare Moon.

"Don't blink" she chuckled; Hiccup returned it with his goofy smile. The teens began to search the wreckage, finding all sorts of food, clothing, and half the island's weight in weapons and treasure.

"what the heck is this?" Astrid asked, holding up one of the many weapons Clarisse had helped Morder with over the years; she was quite the little tinkerer.

"That, my dear Blondie, is called a Gatling gun, you pull the trigger and bullets fire very quickly at the target" Clarisse took the contraption from Astrid to demonstrate. She aimed at a splintering wall on the ruined ship. The pulled the trigger and everyone hit the deck as bullets wildly flew from the weapon. When it was finally over, everyone slowly got to their feet. A fairly impressive cursive **C** was shot into the wall in a pattern of bullet holes.

"That is… so cool!" Hiccup exclaimed, he had to get his hands on the blueprints for that badboy. "how does it work?" he asked. Clarisse threw the gun into his hands, it was fairly heavy so Hiccup kind of got the breath knocked out of him. Clarisse pointed to the trigger,

"You pull the trigger, and it mechanically spins this crank here," she pointed to the small lever that slowly spun when the gun fired bullets. "when the crank spins, it works a series of spring mechanisms inside the gun, firing bullets quickly and continuously, it's pretty cool right?" she said with a grin. Hiccup nodded, looks like they aren't totally different after all, he thought.

Clarisse, much to her twin's surprise, started laughing.

"What?" Hiccup asked, loading bottles of some weird concoction into his satchel.

"It's just, I never thought that I would have a twin, ever" though she smiled at the idea, Hiccup shrugged. It was pretty mind-blowing, I mean Hiccup was an only child his whole life, and now he knows that there is someone in the world like him. As in, Clarisse didn't like following rules of any kind, and Hiccup had a tendency to disobey orders. Or how Clarisse's inventions and contraptions seemed to be perfect and often useful in a fight, be that as Hiccup's little inventions seemed to have tenancies to backfire. A lot. Clarisse laughed again,

"It just, blows my mind to know I have a twin who does… this" she gestured up and down to indicate Hiccup.

"But, you just gestured to all of me" he replied.

"Exactly, I never thought I'd have a twin like you." Somehow Hiccup doubted that that was supposed to be a complement. Hiccup thought back to when he and his twin first met,

"Hah, you remember when I was dangling over that cliff?" he asked with a smile.

"Yah, I remember" Clarisse replied with a laugh.

"I was just, hanging there, and you, you saved me, twice I might add" he said while holding up two fingers. "So, thank you, I guess is what I'm trying to say." Clarisse smiled her twin's goofy smile and shrugged.

"All in a day's work for a…" before Clarisse could finish, the wood floor boards gave out and Hiccup and Clarisse crashed through the floor. They landed in a dark room, dust and dirt flying everywhere from the hole above them.

"…Pirate" Clarisse groaned. Astrid and the others appeared above their heads,

"Are you guys okay!?" she shouted down to them. Hiccup and Clarisse both groaned in reply, Hiccup's head was throbbing when Clarisse extended a hand to help him to his feet.

"Yah, we're peachy!" Clarisse growled irritably.

"What happened?" Astrid called, she and the other teens were waiting on the ground level above the twin's heads, looking for them in the murky darkness.

"The floor gave out, we're fine!" Hiccup called up in reply. Clarisse groaned in annoyance, "I don't suppose you could use your fire-power thing to give us some light?" Hiccup asked. Through the darkness he could tell his twin was glaring at him, but she sighed and tried to light her hands.

A few sparks whizzed from Clarisse's fingertips, but nothing else happened after that.

"It's too wet down here, I can't get a fire going" she explained with a grunt. She was right, water was washing in with the tide, so the ocean was up to their ankles down here. Aside from the light coming in from the hole in the ceiling, it was pitch black down here and Hiccup couldn't see a thing.

"Hiccup, can you see anything?" Clarisse asked him. He couldn't see where she was, but he could make out her voice on the other side of the flooding room.

"No, how are we gonna get out of here!?" he was starting to panic. And why not? He was trapped in a flooding ship wreck, with no one to get him out of it, except for his sister, who might have some serious anger issues to work out, and who was almost a complete sociopath!

"I'm not a sociopath! I'm just… different" Clarisse snapped. Hiccup looked at her through the darkness with confusion in his face. "You panic out loud, you know that?" he could hear her laugh before a loud thump echoed off the dark water.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

"Shut up and just, come over here and help me!" Clarisse ignored his question. He stuttered for a bit, before following her voice over to where she was standing.

"How can anyone tell what's happening down there!?" Astrid called from above.

"I know what I'm doing, I can see in the dark!" Clarisse shouted back. This got the gang's attention fairly quick,

"You can see in the dark?" Astrid asked.

"That is SO cool!" Ruff and Tuff exclaimed. Hiccup had to admit, it was pretty cool, even though he'd thought he'd seen all of her weird abilities: incredible agility and flexibility, unreal hearing and other senses, inhuman speed and reflexes, and now she can see in the dark! But he was still curious about what she was looking for, so he helped her push against the wood wall, not sure what they were doing exactly.

"Here" Hiccup took out his sword: Inferno, and pressed the button that made it catch fire. the flames provided the much needed light, and he saw Clarisse in the flooding room. Her hair was wet and frizzy, and there was an obvious bruise on her cheek.

"So, what are we doing?" Hiccup asked, breaking the silence. Clarisse rolled her eyes, though Hiccup couldn't see it. Clarisse knocked on the wood wall with her fist, it echoed slightly, so there was something behind the wall. She had to get to it, she had to know if there were survivors in there, she had to know.

"Help me with this, there's something behind this wall, there's something here" Clarisse broke away from the wall and unsheathed her sword; in the firelight, Hiccup could see the incredible detail in the curved blade. The brown leather handle was braided intricately over the wood hilt, the base of the shining blade was a flower-like design etched with golden snowflakes and precious jewels. The blade was an absolute masterpiece. As the blade progressed, the designs seemed to tell a story, what or whose story Hiccup didn't know, but it was magnificent just the same.

The beginning of the sword showed symbols of a full moon with shining rays of light flowing over a dove along with several blooming daisies and other flowers, also showing carved details of strong tree roots intertwining with the doves and flowers. Then it showed a metallic ocean, with a broken-up ship intertwining with the carved waters, bolts of lightning and electricity showed with the slightly gruesome design. In the midst of the sword's story, a woman- her face not being shown- was standing in a long black dress, her head down and her arms outstretched, black smoke and lightning oozing from her silver skin. Next, it showed the serpentine scaled body of a dragon snaking along the blade, along with what looked like liquid fire coiling around the dragon's snake like body, the dragon doing the same. Then, it showed the moon again, this time half of it was black, the other half full, it's silver beams were being chased by snaking clouds of black smoke, leading to the scene of a dragon, lying dead in the grass, flowers wilting and dying around it's body, and it's eyes closed as it slept peacefully-never to wake up.

Hiccup sighed to himself, where on earth did Clarisse get this sword!? But, moving on:

The next scene showed two people, a man and a woman, both riding dragons, both holding weapons, and they were fighting the dark lady from before, though the girl didn't look so good. The design showed her with multiple wounds and matted down hair. It looked as if the girl was lowering the moon, as the man raised the sun in the other direction. The picture showed the girl falling off of her dragon's back, plummeting through the air, transforming into the form of a falling dove, and crashing to the ground. Hiccup never saw the ending, because the sword ended with the bright sun, rising towards the blade's tip, its metal rays shining over the previous picture of the falling girl.

He decided not to press Clarisse about the weird story her sword told, instead he helped her by shining the light of his own sword by the wooden ship wall. Clarisse used her sword to stab at the wood planks, splintering the walls and creating a large enough hole in the wall. She was right, it was hollow on the other side, leading to who knows where!

"Okay, do you want to go in the creepy dark room inside the ship-wreck first?' Hiccup asked nervously. Clarisse rolled her eyes and took his sword from him, sheathing her own and shining the light of the fire into the dark room.

"What do you see?" Astrid called. Hiccup honestly didn't know what he was looking at; the room seemed so… normal. A vast room with a large desk at the edge of the wall, shelves upon shelves of endless books, and a grand piano in the center of the room.

"It looks like a… library, of some kind" Hiccup answered back. He heard a loud splash come from the room he and Clarisse had just been in, Clarisse drew her sword again and handed Hiccup his own sword. But they both relaxed when Astrid's face popped through the hole in the wall.

"Why did you jump down here?" Clarisse asked, she was looking at Astrid like she was seriously questioning her mental health.

"What? You didn't think I'd let this walking disaster go through this without me?" Astrid laughed gesturing to Hiccup. Clarisse rolled her eyes with a smile before rummaging through the grand desk. There wasn't much, old papers-most of them wanted posters with her father's face on them. Astrid was sorting through different books on shelves, most of them written in languages she didn't know, while Hiccup examined the piano, as of searching for clues or whatever.

"So, what room was this?" Hiccup asked while hitting a few keys on the piano, the smooth sound echoing in the musty room. Clarisse didn't know how to respond, she'd lived on this ship her whole life, and not once had she been in this room. She didn't even remember it ever being there in the first place!

"I don't know" Clarisse finally said. she rummaged through some more drawers before stopping at one open drawer. There was nothing in it except a bundle of envelopes tied with a piece of wire, a small charm dangling from it. Clarisse recognized the charm, well, half of it anyway: the small blue crescent moon, combined with a small sun charm with an amber in the center. Clarisse untied the letters and sorted through them, each one had the same name written on the envelope:

_Tia Marina: from Larson Merrill_

Tia Marina? Her father wrote letters to Tia Marina!? Wait, let me back up a few years… when Clarisse was fifteen, her draki abilities had just begun, and she was confused and scared. Her parents were just as stumped by what was happening to her, so they sought out an old friend, her father's sister and Clarisse's aunt: Tia Marina. The witch had told her of her heritage, and how she was connected to her dragon Spectrum, they were literally linked by blood. Clarisse remembered thinking that Tia was crazy, but the more the witch explained, the more things made sense. Clarisse remembered her words from that day:

_"Child, do you know what happened the night your parents found you?" the witch had asked with her heavy Russian accent._

_"No, I don't remember" Clarisse had replied._

_"Would you like me to tell you?"_

_"Yes."_

_"You died" Tia told her. Clarisse laughed at the ridiculous statement._

_"I don't think so, I didn't die. I'm standing right here" she mocked._

_"Child, you died, but you were saved, your dragon took pity on you as a baby, and that's why he blessed you…" Tia began, "he blessed you with something that would change your fate, and give you a new one" after saying that, Tia pushed Clarisse over the edge of a balcony. But Clarisse flipped through the air and landed perfectly on her feet, not even having to think about it! _

_"Worry not dear one, there have been others before you, look…" Tia pointed to a wall of different things. Wanted posters, newspapers, missing people reports, they had all been blessed with the same gift._

_"the draki people are not contained by any laws or societies, you follow your own desires, they are often misunderstood and alone, but they all experience a freedom that others will never know…" Clarisse felt tears welling up in her eyes, she didn't want to be different, she didn't want this gift._

_"dear child, you are a draki: every smell, every sight, and every sound incredibly heightened, incredible agility, complete fearlessness, inhuman reflexes…"_

_"So, I'm not Clarisse anymore?" Clarisse asked Tia with a tearful voice. Tia came up behind her and put a reassuring hand on Clarisse's shoulder,_

_"You have always been Clarisse, and you have always been, a draki" Tia explained. Clarisse looked down at her feet, tears welling up in her eyes. Tia brought up her face and whipped away the tears, holding Clarisse's face in her hands,_

_"Accept it child, you are a pirate, and to pirates, freedom is precious, but you have spent your life caged, by accepting who you are, but not all of who you are… this gift can set you free, and freedom is power." Tia Marina then brought out a magnificent helmet, amazingly forged with intricate dragon designs. The same helmet Clarisse wore today. For the first time of many, Clarisse focused her power on the forehead of the helmet, burning the name Clarisse into the metal surface. The name was carved in fancy gold letters, Clarisse smiled and at that moment, found who she really was meant to be._

Clarisse held the letters in her hands, thinking about the last time she had seen Tia Marina. It hadn't been that long, a year at most. She shoved the letters in her bag, promising to read them later. Hiccup was still messing around with the piano and Astrid was rummaging through the book shelves, just like she left them. Hiccup hit a few keys of the piano again, something about the piano seemed… familiar. Hiccup hit the keys G, B, C3, and…

The smooth and deep melody of the piano suddenly stopped on the A4 key. Instead of soft and beautiful like the others, it was cracked and muffled. The key was broken. Clarisse felt the memory flood back into her mind: the piano, not just any piano, Tia Marina's piano!

"No way" she said as she came closer to the grand piano. Now that she was really looking at it, it looked exactly like Tia Marina's grand piano in her house in Germany. The whole place had been burned to the ground after Tia was tried for causing a sickness that killed many people. Of course she didn't do it, but you know Germans, always blaming the witch. The piano looked exactly like it did the last time she saw it, when she was six years old and her father first introduced her to Tia. It was the same as it was then: the glossy wood surface, the dirty keys, and the messed up A4 key.

"what is it?' Astrid asked, putting a book back on its shelf and coming to stand with the twins by the piano. Though Clarisse hesitated, she told them,

"When I was a kid, my aunt had a piano that looked exactly like this, and I would play it all the time" Clarisse explained.

"And… what?" Astrid asked with her eyebrow raised. Clarisse rolled her eyes and continued,

"the A4 key was always messed, up, because she always said her most precious jewel was inside" Clarisse began to inspect the piano from top to bottom, searching for any given clue about Tia Marina's riddle.

She'd searched for a good few minutes before she found it, she was on her back with her eyes pointed up at the bottom surface of the piano. There was an inscription in the wood, most wouldn't be able to read it since it was written in Latin, but Clarisse had studied the language her whole life and knew it like the back of her hand and was also fluent in a handful of other languages like French and Russian. The inscription read:

_Aureus__Ignis,__pennas__et squamas__hyacinthino._

Hiccup shimmied under the piano next to Clarisse.

"What are you doing?" she asked with annoyance. He shrugged like it was nothing and glanced up at the inscription,

"I'm helping, so, what does that say?" he asked, pointing to the carved words.

"What does what say?" Astrid asked as she too was now under the piano, the three teens now formed a sort of triangle position to look up at the Latin carving. Clarisse rolled her eyes, now everyone's under the piano, she thought.

"What is that, Hebrew?" she asked. Clarisse looked at her like she was crazy; there was a huge difference between Hebrew and Latin.

"No, I think it's like Latin or something" Hiccup stated. Clarisse rolled her eyes again and puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.

"Well you better cut off 'or something' because it's defiantly Latin" Clarisse explained with an annoyed huff.

"So what does it say?" Hiccup asked. Clarisse stared at the words for a second mumbling, before reading out loud,

"Okay, _Aureus_, that means Golden," she started, "Golden Fire, Silver Wings, and Scales of Blue." The two teens raised eyebrows in confusion; Clarisse had to admit the words didn't make much sense.

"Well what the heck does that mean?" Astrid demanded. Clarisse thought to herself for a moment; this was Tia Marina's piano, and Tia had personally taught Clarisse every language she knew- including Latin- especially Latin, so she would have known that if anyone found this inscription, Clarisse would have been the only one to read it. And there was one thing Tia loved to teach Clarisse more than anything else;

"It's a riddle" she said finally, getting up out from under the piano and examining the room again. She searched for any kind of clue to the meaning of the riddle,

"Okay, a riddle, great!... what does that mean for us?" Hiccup asked while Clarisse searched the room.

"it means there's more to it, the riddle says that the Lion and the Unicorn unite with the great Owl, so look for anything involving one or more of those three animals" Clarisse explained as she searched. Hiccup and Astrid exchanged glances before shrugging and scouring the room.

The three teens searched for more than five minutes before Hiccup stopped at what looked like an old dusty weapons rack, littered with a broken spear and a chipped dagger. But that's not what caught his interest; Hiccup moved some of the broken weapons out of the way and shone his torch light on the back of the wooden rack. Carved into the wood was a dragon, its mouth gaping open a spewing shimmering gold-painted flames.

"I found something!" he called to the girls. They rushed to where he was standing, all three of them staring at the carved lion picture.

"Why is it in a weapons rack?" Astrid asked.

"The dragon painted gold in most cultures was believed to be the symbol of strength and bravery and honor, weapons are tools of bravery and strength and honor" Clarisse explained, breaking apart from the two and continuing to search for the other two animal symbols.

"Oh, that makes sense" Astrid replied, also trying to find a Silver wing or a Blue scale. Clarisse then started to check the mirror vanity in the far corner of the room. She flipped the mirror over to check there, and came across the carved figure of a silver painted dragon, its wings outstretched in a graceful manner.

"Bingo!" Clarisse exclaimed, no one asked any questions after the unicorn was found, they just wanted to finish the riddle and then get the heck out of this ship! Astrid found the third picture in one of the book shelves a little bit later; it was another dragon except it's body was a sparkling blue that made the scales look like stunning blue jewels.

"Okay, Golden Fire, Silver wings, blue scales, what does that mean?" Clarisse whispered to herself. She stood at the mirror looking at the dragon carving, the eye was a small pearl that glimmered in the firelight.

"Hey, do you guy's carvings have a crystal for an eye?" Astrid asked from where she stood at the bookcase.

"No, this one has an amber for an eye" Hiccup answered back. Clarisse looked dead in the eye of the silver, and then a light bulb went off in her head.

"Guys, when I say three, press the eye of the dragon in front of you" she ordered.

"Why?" Hiccup asked,

"Just do it" Clarisse snapped. Hiccup shrugged and pressed his index finger to the eye of the golden dragon, Astrid did the same with the blue one.

"Alright, one…" Clarisse started. "Two…" she locked eyes with Hiccup for a split second, then looked back at the small pearl beneath her index finger. "Three!" the three teens pressed the eyes of the animals in perfect unison. Clarisse could hear tiny mechanisms turning in the carvings, the eyes had been buttons of some kind, and now they'd been activated.

Small mechanisms within the walls of the partly flooded room turned and spun until a second after, the A4 key of the broken piano sprung up out of place. It jutted out from the other keys like a shipwreck. Clarisse, Hiccup and Astrid walked over to the piano, Clarisse carefully pulled the A4 key out of place. It had broken itself free and Clarisse let it clatter into the ankle-deep water, which had now risen to knee-level, they had to move fast.

In the place of the now missing A4 piano key, was a hollow space within the piano, and it looked like something was inside.

"Hey, I think there's something in there" Hiccup pointed out-stating the obvious again, Clarisse thought with the roll of her eyes. She was going to give herself a headache with the amount of eye-rolls this guy brought out. Clarisse slowly and carefully reached out her hand to grab the object lodged beneath the piano keys. It was solid, but smooth-leather and she felt the rough surface of paper within the pages. It was a book. She suddenly got an idea; she smirked to herself before putting on her serious face again.

All of a sudden, she cried out in blinding pain, startling the other two and causing Hiccup to fall back with his hands covering his face.

"Oh my gods what is it!?" Astrid panicked. Clarisse's scream then shifted to her howling with laughter like a timber wolf. She was laughing so hard Hiccup saw tears welling up in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't resist!" she cackled. Astrid looked at her like she was insane before angrily punching Clarisse in the arm. Now to be honest, it hurt Astrid more than Clarisse, that's because the draki have skin like living marble, they can be cut and bruised like any other human, it just hurts like hell when you punch them. Clarisse shrugged off the punch like it was a fallen leaf, and reached back into the crevice in the piano. She took hold of the leather surface and pulled the dusty book from its hiding place.

"It's a book." Astrid said, unimpressed. Clarisse examined the old book. Leather cover, ivory pages, and all covered head to toe in fancy written words. It was a storybook.

The old copy had a chain book-mark dangling from the pages, a small charm attached to the iron chain. It was about two inches long, gold, and in the shape of a lightning bolt. Clarisse took the chain out from the pages, the chain connected with a loop and clasp, it was a necklace. She shrugged and handed it to Astrid, who looked at it curiously before shrugging and slipping it around her neck.

Clarisse shoved the old book in her satchel and turned back to the hole in the wall,

"So, what do you say we get the hell out of here?" she smirked. Hiccup and Astrid both nodded. They climbed through the hole in the side of the room and saw the others extending Hookfang's long tail to get them out. The three easily climbed up his spiny tail and were out of the wreck in no time.

Clarisse walked over to Spectrum and mounted up, only to be stopped by Astrid before the two could take off.

"Whoa, whoa, hey! You said that once we scavenged your ship you would teach us your weird dragon powers or whatever!" Astrid barked. Clarisse just rolled her eyes,

"Tell you what, we get back to the arena, and then I promise to teach you everything I can do, deal?" Clarisse bargained. Astrid was about to snap something else, but Hiccup spoke before she could,

"That's great! Lead the way" he replied. Clarisse flashed her chaotic grin,

"Of course, as long as you can keep up with us" she smirked. Snotlout only laughed,

"Yah right! Toothless and Stormfly are the fastest dragons in Berk, there's no way you can beat them in an aerial race!" he sneered. Clarisse only batted her eyes innocently in his direction before adding,

"Oh no, we're not flying…" she spurred Spectrum and they took off in the air. Hiccup and the others were about to mount up and go after her, but then Clarisse did something crazy.

She steered Spectrum into a cut off and they dived straight into the water, leaving nothing but the rainbow glimmer of spectrum's luminescent scales, and a white ring of foam. Once everyone snapped back into reality and remembered Clarisse's deal, they raced to mount their dragons.

"Come on Toothless, no way she can beat us!" Hiccup said encouragingly. Toothless flashed his dragon grin and took off into the air, the others following close behind. They kept track of Spectrum under the water, it was amazing that Clarisse could stay under so long and not drown or freeze to death, but then again she'd been surprising the riders all day.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 A rather strange person to call "Dad"**

Toothless zipped through the air like a guided missile with Hiccup on his back. The two were caught in a race between them and Hiccup's supposed twin sister- Clarisse. She could hold her breath for a fair amount of time, an hour at most, which would give her just enough time to beat Hiccup and toothless back to the village. They'd made a deal that if Hiccup could keep up with her and her dragon Spectrum in a race, she would teach him and his friends about the ways of the draki. And the fireworks had just begun.

Clarisse's eyes had narrowed in the murkiness of the Berkian ocean, but she could still see clear enough in front of her to occasionally glace up at Hiccup and toothless as they impressively kept up with them. She'd chosen the fastest path, the water. though Spectrum was fast in the air, he was like lightning in the water. added with his built in lubrication, and the fact that his fins sliced through the waves like a machete, they were already ahead of the other riders. But Toothless then put in a burst of speed, nearly catching the girl by their tail. Clarisse then thought of a way to have some fun, she spurred Spectrum and pulled back on his tentacles, which were coiled around her wrists and arms. The banshee brushed the surface, his rider taking in a breath of fresh air, his fins folding into his slimy skin and his wings thrusting them out of the sea and into the clouds. Toothless and Hiccup following close behind. Clarisse steered Spectrum through the white clouds and along the blue sky, forgetting the race and just letting the headwinds carry them. Spectrum then threw himself up into an upwards spiral, creating a twister of clouds around them. He thrust his colorful wings away from his body, clearing away the foggy whiteness around them. Hiccup caught a glance at his twin for a moment. The confidence in her posture, the fearlessness in her eyes, the really freaky resemblance. He smiled at his sister's dragon-like spirit before she steered spectrum down, and they were off again, this time in the air.

The girl and her banshee looked like that out of a book, fearless, the wind in their faces, the racing of their heartbeats as they sliced through the winds in a downwards dive. The clouds from above dispersed as they came closer to the sea of ocean and sea-stacks up ahead. The two easily swerved left and right to avoid them, snaking around in a serpentine pattern, Hiccup and Toothless close behind. Clarisse dived again, narrowly missing a sea-stack and just barely skimming the surface of the icy waters; but Hiccup had no fear for his twin, he knew how fearless and capable she was.

Clarisse had never felt more alive than when she and Spectrum were flying, the wind in her hair, the adrenalin coursing through her, there was nothing else like it on earth. She just smiled triumphantly as the winds whipped against her face and through her hazel locks. She steered Spectrum left, then right, intertwining between various sea-stacks and creating complicated patterns she knew she could never memorize. When the stacks broke apart and the sea was clear up ahead, a group of water dragons breached the surface before diving back down, and then repeating the movement. Clarisse held out her hand and brushed the rocky surface of the dragon, her smile clearly visible on her face as she did so. Hiccup couldn't help but smile at his twin's enthusiasm towards dragons, for a split second, he was afraid she'd hated them and would never ride one. Boy had he been wrong.

Clarisse yanked back on her reins, err, tentacles, and she and Spectrum performed a mid-air vertical corkscrew before they raced upwards into the clouds again. This time they slowed at the edge of the horizon, and just hovered. Hiccup slowed up beside them, Clarisse had her arms outstretched and her eyes closed dreamily as the sun shone through her hazel hair that was identical to Hiccup's. She took a deep breath before her green eyes blinked open again, locked on the distant horizon. For a split second Hiccup saw it, he saw it in her eyes, in her smile. The longing. The longing for something she thought she could never have again. He knew it was about her ship, and her parents, and her home. She did miss it, even if she wasn't very good at sharing her feelings. She longed for the sea again, she longed for freedom again. She met his gaze for a moment before steering Spectrum back down to the cliffs of Berk, landing with the up-most grace.

Hiccup landed beside her, both Toothless and Spectrum giving tired huffs. The other riders came up shortly after, their dragons looking tired and annoyed at the same time.

"That, was…" Hiccup started as he slid off of Toothless' back, "Awesome!" Clarisse gave a small laugh. Astrid came up to them with a slightly excited expression,

"So, I expect you'll hold up your side of the deal?" she stated. Like I said before, Clarisse is good at reading people, and Astrid looked calm enough, but she knew that one word said about breaking their deal, and Astrid would rip into Clarisse like Spectrum into a bag of sausages.

"I will, but not now," she began, seeing how it was already sunset, and she figured the teens had had enough for one day. "I'll teach you the ways of the draki, but it'll have to wait until tomorrow" she explained. Though the others seemed disappointed, they didn't object, seeing how they were all exhausted and starving.

Clarisse walked back to the village with the others, she knew where the great hall was, thanks to her little par-core workout this morning. Though there didn't seem like much to it during the day hours, it was bustling with people at dinner. Clarisse tried to blink as little as possible, taking in the sheer awesomeness of the hall. The entire building looked like it had been carved from an actual mountain, the high ceiling being held up by enormous pillars made of wood. Around the crowded hall, there were carvings, etched and driven into the stone surface. They depicted great battles with great victories won by people of Berk or other heroes. There were carvings of the Norse gods and of dragons, of Celtic knots and intricate patterns; everywhere you looked they covered the walls. The surface of the ceiling was rough, pick-marks visible from a few small mistakes from when it was built. And, everywhere your eyes took you, there were magnificent paintings, tapestries, weapons and other relics displayed for all to gaze upon in awe. They sat on plinths or mounted on the wall itself.

In the center of the massive room was a huge fire-pit, the heavy smell of cooking food made Clarisse's mouth water- she realized she hadn't eaten in two days. Above the flames hung an incredible golden dragon, a blade skewering its stomach and a look of absolute terror and agony frozen onto its open-mouthed face. Though Clarisse was all for details, this piece just made her a little bit sick. Around her, long tables were spread throughout the hall, all filled with people enjoying their evening meal.

Hiccup and his friends took a seat at one of the long tables, Clarisse took a small chicken from the make-shift grill and- unfortunately- got stuck with the seat next to Snot-rag. He flashed his cocky grin and she growled in reply, making him back off.

"So, what's in store for us tomorrow?" Astrid asked, as everyone started their food, breaking the tension. Clarisse laughed once before thinking to herself. She thought of what SHE went through to be what she is now, but that was because of Tia Marina and a life as a pirate. But she also knew the quicker, more painful way of learning the ways of the draki. Clarisse honestly didn't know all of it, to her knowledge she was the last draki there was. No others were ever found, Tia had said that they'd been killed off for accusations of witchcraft and blasphemy. Burning obviously never worked because of the draki's immunity to fire, so the most magnificent race if humans were often drowned, mobbed, or even worse. It made Clarisse smolder with anger just thinking about it. But it made her feel better knowing that these lovable yet annoying teens were curious about the draki.

"Well, for most it takes years, some don't even live long enough to complete draki training" Clarisse began.

"What's a draki?" Fishlegs asked. He held a fairly thick book in his hands along with a coal pencil, as if he was about to take notes.

"He's obsessed with the Book of Dragons, it's like his little baby" Snotlout explained with a smirk. Clarisse assumed that 'the Book of Dragons' was that huge book he was holding.

"Well, the draki are a very rare, very extinct kind of people. As children they were sick or dying, so a dragon merged its blood with the human's blood, thus becoming a Dragon's Blood- draki for short. They have incredible abilities far beyond that of any normal human being, even the ability to control fire" Clarisse smiled devilishly, striking her nails against the wooden table and lighting her hand on fire. The others gasped in awe, Fishlegs looked down-right terrified, but he wrote everything down in the Book of Dragons.

"So, the flames don't burn you or hurt you?" Hiccup asked. Clarisse clenched her fist, extinguishing the fire for now.

"No, though I was a little surprised when things like this first started happening" she chuckled. Astrid looked up for a moment,

"Wait, _first_ started happening? When did this happen to you? When did you become a Dragon's Blood?" she asked, curious about Hiccup's twin.

"I've had dragon's blood in me since I was a baby, but you don't just get all these cool powers right away, like I said, it takes years to truly gain control over them. They usually start showing up around puberty,"

"Whoa, whoa, okay I've heard enough!" Astrid said, holding her hands up in defense. The others joined in a hearty laugh.

"So, moving on from that, how did you complete your training?" Hiccup asked. Clarisse looked down for a moment, for the first time actually catching Hiccup's necklace. It was a simple leather string tied around his neck, but that's not what she saw. The pendant was iron, in the shape of a perfectly crafted sun with an amber in the center. The light shifted and danced off the stone as if some sort of energy was trapped inside.

_Ask him about it!_ A voice in her head advised, _it could be important, you wear the moon after all._ It was weird, Clarisse didn't normally linger on thoughts like this, but the voice in her head didn't sound like her. You know how everyone has that 'thinking voice' in their head that always talks the same way, well, this voice talking to Clarisse was not that voice. She snapped back, remembering Hiccup's question.

"Huh, oh! Well, for me it didn't take very long, but it has nothing to do with skill, I learned so quickly because of three simple stages of training." She explained.

"Well, let's hear them" Astrid proposed.

"What?" Clarisse asked, obviously they didn't think about what types of scars this training could leave on them, mental or physical, most likely both!

"Yah, if you can jump like a dragon, fight like one, and use fire like one, then I'm sure we can too!" Tuffnut said with an arrogant smile. For once, Clarisse felt like she could murder this guy right on the spot, why did he have to be so arrogant, cocky, annoying, kind of cute… wait what? Never mind.

"Alright" Clarisse said as calmly as she could. The others listened intently, even the twins looked excited.

"Well, the first stage is physical training, pushing your bodies to their absolute limits, breaking through those limits and eventually having none." She explained with a serious tone, as if this was no laughing matter. But it didn't seem to work, since the other teens looked ecstatic about getting beat up by Hiccup's twin sister.

"Cool" Ruffnut exclaimed.

"I'd better get a scar out of it" Astrid grunted under her breath, which Clarisse heard. Thank you dragon hearing. She continued,

"The next stage of training is mental, retreating into the depths of your mind, finding your absolute worst fears and then facing them, and when you face your worst fear with no fear, you will win." The others didn't quite get that, I mean, how can you have no fear, when you're facing your worst fear? Regardless she continued,

"The last stage is a mystery, it is both mental and physical, and you face something beyond imagination, beyond anything you see with your eyes. To truly be a draki, you must let go of all fear, all doubt, all insecurity, and live, be free, be a draki." Clarisse ended that note thinking that this idea was one hundred percent, going to blow up in her face.

"But, how can we do all that? We're not dragon's bloods, we can't do what you can" Hiccup explained. Clarisse had thought of that. When scavenging the remnants of the Nightmare Moon, Clarisse found_ her_ most prized possession. She reached into her satchel and pulled out an ivory box, engraved with all sorts of dragon designs and carvings. It was an exquisite piece of work, Hiccup thought. He wondered if Clarisse was as much of a tinkerer as he was. Clarisse slowly and carefully lifted the lid of the ivory box, the inside was lined with soft red velvet. The scarlet lining looked so alive against the white of the box that Hiccup almost didn't notice the brilliance of what it held.

"Whoa" Astrid breathed. The others were entranced by what lay inside the white box. The red velvet was hollowed out in eight places, six lined up in a straight row, the other two in a vertical line above them. And each holding a magnificent fiery colored crystal. Two of the crystals were big, about the size of Hiccup's hand, and the other six were about the size of a Terrible Terror's foot, meaning they're small. Like the amber in Hiccup's amulet, these crystals seemed to dance and shift with energy inside them. Ruffnut reached out a hand to touch them,

"Pretty" she said, Clarisse slapped her hand away quickly.

"These, are dragon's fire crystals" Clarisse explained.

"What do they do?" Astrid asked, everyone snapped out of their trance and were now looking curiously at Clarisse and then back to the stunning gemstones.

"They are the very fire of a dragon, you see, when a dragon breaths fire, it doesn't just come from nowhere. Inside the neck of every dragon, are two crystals, muscles inside a dragon's throat strike the crystals together, generating the initial spark that ignites the creature's breath.

The crystals can be removed intact and they retain their ability to generate an awe-inspiring flame when struck against each other, and when worn as jewelry, can give its wearer the partial abilities of a draki. Small ones such as speed, agility, and fire." Clarisse explained. The others listened intently while Fishlegs again was writing this down in the Book.

"But, if they're inside a dragon's throat then, how did you get these?" Astrid asked, a mix between shock and anger oozed from her eyes, "You didn't…"

"Gods no! How could you even think such a thing?" Clarisse snapped, general horror on her face. The twins snickered from the argument.

"But I see your concern, collecting these without killing is very difficult and can often get _you_ killed in the process. None the less I prefer not to talk about how I came by these, it's kind of hard to explain" Clarisse rubbed the back of her neck nervously.

"Come on! It can't be crazier than that time we fought the Red Death, right Hiccup?" Tuffnut exclaimed, glancing at the boy with the green eyes. He shifted his fake leg uncomfortably, like he was thinking of a painful memory. Clarisse made a mental note to ask him about it later, when everyone wasn't listening.

"Well, my stories are pretty crazy… okay, just don't hate me any more than you already do when you hear the ending" she advised before telling her tale.

Clarisse told the story of how she got the fire crystals for about an hour. She told of her ship pulling into Singapore for a nightly raid on a sea-side town. They had acquired the necessities for pirates; gold, rum, gun powder the works. But when retreating back to the ship, the crew had come across a horrific scene. About eight or so dragons lay dead on the ground, they laid their limp heads beside a small lake. Clarisse's father sniffed at the water, confirming that they'd all died of infected waters. Infected with what, Clarisse didn't know but her father had taken pity on the graceful and majestic beasts, thinking of her dragon Spectrum. As a token of his sorrow, he cut the fire crystals from each dragon's neck, saying that just because their physical being no longer inhabited the earth, the fires within them should be able to live on. So he collected the gems and left Singapore, giving them to his beloved fourteen year old daughter-Clarisse.

"Wow" Astrid breathed sadly. The others seemed sad for a moment too, before Tuffnut reach a hand forward to try to quietly snatch one of the gemstones.

"Hey!" Clarisse snapped before swatting his hand away. "Training begins tomorrow, so you each get one tomorrow, capisce?" she snapped. The others grumbled in disappointment,

"Confirm the capisce!" they then snapped up at her bark and agreed without hesitation. Clarisse nodded and slipped the box back into her satchel. She got up from the table and discarded the bones from her eaten chicken, smiled and walked out the door. Hiccup and the others said their goodbyes before he ran to catch up with Clarisse.

The walk home was silent, accept from the occasional creak from Spectrum, who had just come down from his midnight swim. He had to be in the water at least twice a day or he'd die, but he never forgot to swim, he loved it, he was born to the sea, which was convenient since Clarisse grew up on a ship. Sleeping without the soothing sway of the ocean was going to be tough for her.

Hiccup opened the front door for Clarisse, who gave him a nod and stepped in the house. Clarisse had to admit, the ground floor of Hiccup's house was not as, well, hate-able, as she'd pictured. All in all it was pretty homey. But that would never make it Clarisse's home, she'd already lost that. She almost didn't notice the giant, burly man sitting and poking at a fire pit. He had a reddish-brown beard and a horned helmet on his head, and green eyes. I supposed they were meant to be Hiccup's eyes, but somehow they were different, Clarisse couldn't place it.

"Dad?" Hiccup asked, slightly startled and a little nervous. But then again, who wouldn't be intimidated by this guy, even Clarisse grew cautious in his presence, and that was with her draki ability. Hiccup's father looked up from the fire pit, his eyes frozen on Clarisse. He just looked at her, not taking his eyes off of her; Clarisse swore she saw him tear up a bit. He kept opening and closing his mouth like he wanted to say something, but couldn't, after about a minute of that, his eyes locked on Clarisse's amulet, looking back up at her face he grew a warm smile.

"My baby girl," he approached Clarisse, she didn't move, but she kept a hand on her pistol just in case. The burly man placed his hand on her cheek, though he could snap her neck like a twig, his touch was gentle. He defiantly had tears in his eyes now,

"You're more beautiful than I ever could have hoped." Clarisse backed away, confusion showing in her Haddock-green eyes. Hiccup just stood there, hoping for more of a run-to-her-birth-father-with-open-arms type reaction, but not this. His father looked at Clarisse like she was the most precious thing in the world to him, at the moment, she was. I mean, it's not every day you find your daughter who supposedly died as a baby, and showed up eighteen years later very much alive.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" she said in a cold tone. Hiccup winced, he got that his father was a stranger to Clarisse, but she didn't need to be so harsh. The man was in tears for Thor's sake! But his father only gave a hearted laugh,

"Ah, so much like your dear mother, you really don't know me?" he seemed to get the gist that he was a complete stranger to his own daughter. Clarisse only shrugged slightly,

"Should I?" though her tone was cold, Hiccup could tell that Clarisse was trying to place a memory to his, err, their father. So he decided to give her a nudge,

"Clarisse, this is Stoick the Vast, also known as the chief of the Hooligan tribe of Berk, and our father" Hiccup explained. He had his sister's attention now; she stared with wide eyes at Stoick.

Clarisse tried to place in her mind where she knew this man who claimed to be her birth-father, but the memory was too fuzzy. Heck she was a baby when she was abandoned, so of course she didn't remember much. All she could remember was loud noises thundering all around her, the sky going dark, people shouting and running, then it all went black and… well you know the rest already.

"I don't have parents; I was thrown into the ocean as a baby, then I d… I was raised by my adopted parents ever since" she explained. Hiccup heard her cut her sentence at the d. it sounded like she was going to say that she did die. He shared a glance with his father; they were obviously thinking the same thing.

"Clarisse, no one threw you into the ocean…" Stoick cleared his throat while looking at the floor, Hiccup continued, "You were lost to the sea in a storm, everyone here…" he trailed off while taking a good look at her, and then at Stoick before adding,

"Everyone thought you were dead." Clarisse looked at Hiccup's, wait sorry, her 'father' with sad eyes before thinking, this man might be her birth-father, but that didn't make him her REAL father. He didn't raise her, he didn't care for her, he was never there for her. Be that as it may he thought she was dead for eighteen years, but still. Her father was Larson Merrill, her mother was Marie Dalma, they both died in a ship wreck. Her parents were dead, and Clarisse felt guilt seeping into her heart at the thought of replacing them with, this guy.

"I'm sorry, Stoick…" Hiccup's father looked like his heart had just been ripped out at Clarisse saying that one word: Stoick. Hiccup felt bad for the guy, he just met his thought-to-be-dead daughter after so many years, and she couldn't even call him 'Dad'

"You seem nice but, with all due respect, you are not my father, my father was Larson Merrill, and he's dead… my parents are dead." Clarisse didn't even wait for him to react; she calmly passed Hiccup and his father and walked up the stairs to his room. Hiccup sighed and turned to his dad,

"Don't worry dad, she'll come around, I know she will" he said as encouragingly as he could. Stoick sighed sadly,

"Son, I hope you're right, I promised myself I wouldn't lose her again… but it seems, I already have."

Clarisse was in Hiccup's room undoing her gun holster and weapons when he came in. she ignored him and set her things by the door,

"You know, you didn't have to be so harsh" he said. Clarisse did feel kind of bad for treating the big guy like a lame hatchling she was stuck babysitting, but she was right; he wasn't her father. Her father was dead.

"He's a good guy, you just need to get to know him better" Hiccup explained.

"Hiccup," Clarisse started, turning towards her twin, "Understand that I haven't already left yet only because I have no plan, I have no family, I'm homeless, all I have is Spectrum, and the clothes and weapons on my back." Hiccup puffed out his cheeks, which was annoying. Clarisse did that all the time when she was nervous, stressed, or exasperated.

"But, we're your family, this is your home." Hiccup explained. Clarisse started to get annoyed, didn't he get it? He was her twin, and that was great! But he was nowhere near close enough to her for her to call him family. Clarisse glanced outside at the full moon, it was late, and she needed sleep if she was going to train those teens in the morning.

"Look, you're my twin, I'll give you that for now, but it's late and we need sleep, you're gonna need it for what I have in store for you guys tomorrow" she smirked before grabbing a pillow and blanket and then climbing up the wall.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Hiccup asked from below. Clarisse laid out her sleeping necessities out on a large wooden beam above Hiccup's head.

"I'm used to sleeping high up." She said before laying her head on the pillow and closing her eyes, thus ending the conversation. She heard Hiccup laugh slightly before he shrugged and blew out the candle lighting the room. Clarisse thought about the events of the day; the book in Tia Marina's piano, the matching set of amulet's she and Hiccup wore, and above all- her father! She actually found her birth father! Over the years she'd been curious about whom her real parents were, but she never expected to actually find them! And she had a twin, a twin for god's sake! Clarisse pushed those thoughts away, clearing her mind and drifting off to sleep.


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11 Training has only just begun. Part 1**

Clarisse woke to the sound of Spectrum flicking his tail in her face. She blinked open her eyes and shoved him away, indicating that she was awake. He was sitting in the room with his horse' head tilted to the side innocently. For a brief moment, she'd forgotten the events of the last two days, when her life was at least semi-normal and not so freaking psychotic. Her jade green eyes took in the sight of Hiccup's room in the light of morning. From her temporary sleeping spot on a ceiling beam above his head, she could see him sound asleep. It was about time for him to get up, she smirked at the thought of the draki training she was going to put them through today. Clarisse jumped down from her beam, landing with complete balance and silence. She quietly petted Spectrum on his slimy horse nose before smirking to herself, thinking of a way to get Hiccup out of bed.

She quietly walked over to the side of Hiccup's bed, looking at his sleeping face with a raised eyebrow. The likeness was remarkable: same face, same hair, all except for his larger nose, and green eyes (because of that little ship-exploration/crash through the floor, Clarisse now had a faint scar on her chin that made her and Hiccup almost twins again, though you hardly noticed it). She sighed with annoyance and grabbed the bottom edge of Hiccup's bed. She lifted the bed until he fell over the side, landing on the floor with a startled thud.

"Who, whoa, what! What's going on!?" he stuttered frantically. Clarisse crossed her arms and looked down at him while he was on the floor trying to get to his feet, his night fury-Toothless- was now awake and helping him up.

"morning Princess, training starts in one hour!" Clarisse said quickly before opening the window and jumping out. Spectrum stood there for a moment, looking around as If he wasn't quite sure what to do next. He looked at Hiccup and blinked before he trotted down the stairs to catch up with his human. Hiccup puffed out his cheeks and ran a hand through his hair,

"What have I gotten myself into now bud?" he asked Toothless, who just seemed to shrug in reply. Hiccup let out a small laugh, this was going to be a long day.

The other riders had met up at the arena bright and early, long before Clarisse did. She felt kind of embarrassed being late to a class she had to teach, and about how to be a draki no less! But she did see the chance to make an entrance. She heard the riders conversing as she went through different ways to get to the floor, seeing as she was on a fairly high ledge in the arena so the other riders couldn't see her. She spotted a metal pole forged horizontally into the wall, about a yard down from where she was crouching like a jungle cat. She could use it to get down, and make an entrance while doing so. She smiled her devilish smirk as she prepared to pounce.

"ugh! Where is Clarisse?!" Astrid groaned impatiently. She and the others had been waiting for their so-called 'teacher' for about an hour.

"That girl is probably on one of her 'jump around on the village roofs like a freaking cat' trips" Snotlout replied.

Clarisse made a sort of metal creak as she leapt from her hiding place, free-falling in a head-first dive for five seconds before grabbing the metal pole and swinging up onto it so she could stand. She walked confidently to the edge of the pole, jumping again and landing on the ground with a crack. The ground beneath her had shifted and broken when she landed, making a make-shift crater in the arena.

"Told you" Snotlout groaned in annoyance. The others seemed to shrivel a bit out of their annoyance when they saw Clarisse's eyes in dragon-mode, he pupils thinned into a vertical line before fading back to normal.

"we were wondering when you'd show up" Astrid said with an irritated growl as Clarisse got to her feet and brushed the dirt off her hands.

"Well I'm here, so simmer down Blondie" Clarisse said with a false smile. Astrid gritted her teeth in hatred, this girl may be her boyfriend's sister, but that didn't mean she had to like her.

"I have a name, you Babydoll-looking…"

"Okay, where do we start?" Hiccup asked, cutting Astrid off before anything else was said. Clarisse shot her a glare that would make any dragon quiver. Hiccup didn't get why his sister and his girlfriend hated each other so badly, in a way, they were a lot alike, though he would never tell them that. They would probably team up to murder him before going back to hating each other again.

Clarisse honestly didn't give a shrieking gull about Blondie, but no one, No one calls her Babydoll. Not anymore. And besides, once Clarisse gives you a nick-name, it sticks, with her at least. Plus, for obvious reasons, Blondie suited Astrid. But Clarisse kept her cool as she reached for her satchel, pulling out the white box holding the fire-crystals.

"Okay, this is how it's going to go," she started by tying a string around each crystal, to hang around each rider's neck. She took the first fire gem and handed it to Hiccup,

"When you put on these crystals, you let everything go," she handed to next one to Snotlout,

"Let all pain go…" the next two went to the twins, who eagerly slipped the crystals around their necks.

"Let all fear go…" she handed the next to Fishlegs, who examined it like he was afraid of the gem. She stopped in front of Astrid, who softened her glare when Clarisse gave her the last crystal,

"Let all anger go…" Astrid took the gem and tied the string around her neck, the crystal dangling just below her new lightning bolt pendant.

"What you will be able to do, see, and feel, is up to you now, you control how you live, what you do, and what you will die to defend." She stood in front of the others, holding the two large fire crystals. Clarisse took a deep breath, clearing her mind.

She quickly struck the two crystals together, creating a loud crack. But what caught the teen's eyes made them all gasp.

A magnificent fire erupted from the gems, twisting an writhing in mid-air as if the flames were alive. It changed colors from blue to red to gold, moving and changing like some sort of dance.

"Don't worry, it only hurts a second" Clarisse advised quickly as the flames faded into the air.

"Wait what?" Hiccup asked. Clarisse looked down, and then the pain started.

The riders all crumbled on the ground, writhing in a burning pain. Astrid clawed at the ground, they all wanted to scream but no one could find their voice. Hiccup twisted and coughed on the ground, wanting to yell at the top of his lungs, but everything became a blur, every sound was numb and muffled. For a brief second, he thought his sister had tricked them. Mislead them all like Heather, and now Clarisse was killing them with these weird gems that she claimed would give them all special powers. But unlike Heather, Clarisse was slowly and painfully killing them.

But then the pain just… stopped. The burning left their bodies and they slowly began to regain focus. Not only that, they felt… better. It was more extreme than it sounded.

Clarisse looked her twin dead in the eyes, she saw it. She saw the reflection of the dragon flame in his green eyes, she saw it in all of them. The dancing, writhing flame that was suspended in the air mere moments ago, showing in the eyes of those who were now the draki. They slowly and sluggishly got to their feet, wondering how they weren't dead.

"What in Thor's name did you do to us!?" Astrid demanded, sounding exhausted. Clarisse could already sense the strength of the dragon-fire in them. Their eyes were sharper, their hearts thumping at a steady beat that ran cold with the fire that was in every dragon. But she knew that once they took off the crystals, that fire would be gone. But she also sensed something strange in Hiccup; his heartbeat seemed the same, the same steady beat, the same human blood. It didn't make sense. It was like he… no. no that was impossible.

"Hello?!" Astrid shouted, waving her hands around to get Clarisse's attention.

"Calm down, none of that was permanent, just a side-effect from the crystals" she explained calmly. Astrid still looked ticked off, but then again, she kind of always was angry with Clarisse.

"Is that going to happen a lot?" Fishlegs coughed up, he looked like he was in tears.

"Of course not, it just gives you the fire from the gems, in which giving you the partial draki abilities, it's got a bit of a sucker punch to it as you probably already know" she explained with a nervous smile. Snotlout just stood there hunched over looking like he was going to throw up, and Astrid looked like she wanted to murder someone- preferably Clarisse.

"You think?" she snapped, her voice etched with sarcasm. Clarisse only laughed in reply,

"Alright, let's get started." She smirked devilishly. Hiccup grimaced, if their training was going to be as fun as their first lesson-note the sarcasm- then they were going to need more than just a piece of jewelry for strength.

"Oh, and one more thing, try to have fun, otherwise, what's the point?" saying that must have calmed the teens down, because Snotlout went back to, well, being his normal annoying self, and the twins started toying with their crystals like cats with a ball of yarn. Clarisse smiled and pointed a finger at Tuffnut,

"You, come here" she said sweetly. He didn't hesitate to step forward until he was about three feet away from her, his lips curled into an arrogant smile.

"Now, here is your first lesson," Clarisse began while walking in a circle around Tuffnut as if inspecting him, which he didn't have a problem with.

"relax, feel the earth beneath you, and the air around you, take a deep breath…" Tuffnut did as he was told, taking a deep breath of air before Clarisse continued,

"And when you're ready, I want you to hit me." This caught Tuffnut and the others a bit by surprise. She wanted him to hit her? Was she nuts? Sure she was a draki and had special strength abilities, but he was still a bit bigger than her and fairly strong.

"You want me to, what?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at Hiccup's sister whom he did Not think was hot at all. Nope, not at all. (note the obvious doubt in his thinking voice).

"Hit me." Clarisse repeated, this time firmly, as if she was ordering him to do it. Well, technically she was, but still. Tuff looked at her like she was crazy,

"You're like half my size-" he never got to finish. Clarisse blinked once before punching him right in the jaw, hard. The male Thorston twin fell on his butt on the ground with a painful groan.

"Act like a priss, and you get hit like one" Clarisse growled before stepping over his body towards the others.

"That," she started by pointing to Tuffnut's body on the ground, "Was lesson number 1, never hesitate to hit back, ever!" Ruffnut and Snotlout snickered at the fact that Ruff's brother just got beat to the ground by a girl. Again. And it was the same girl no less!

"Now, moving on, the next few weeks will be your physical training. I'm not gonna lie, it will be painful. But, draki abilities are supposed to go beyond that of any normal human, and that will be your motivation. In other words, when you're in your most perfect physical condition, and you bear the fire of a dragon, you will have a freedom that others will never know!" Clarisse explained, Tuffnut got to his feet and stood beside the others, a look of pain still etched on his face.

"Freedom is power. As draki, you will have that freedom." She ended that note by flashing her playful smirk. Hiccup began to feel like this wasn't such a good idea after all. Clarisse just smiled playfully,

"Now, let's get this party started."

The next few days were without a doubt, more painful than Changewing venom poured down your pants. Clarisse put the riders through extensive physical training, none of them had even heard of some of the things she had them do. Pull-ups on a bar that was thirty feet in the air, running through the volcanic mountains in Berk's vast forest, and worst of all… push-ups while Toothless sat on your back.

But as the days progressed, the training did get easier. Hiccup could now do more than one pull-up, and Astrid could lift Stormfly above her head like a pro. It became clear through Clarisse that if your heart wasn't willing you to go on, then there was no way you could succeed. She said that she could easily lift Meatlug above her head, not because of muscle or strength, but will. It had nothing to do with power, it was will. Once the riders realized that, they were unstoppable!

They now reached their second week of physical training, and Clarisse was having everyone try to fight her more often. Underlining 'try.' Anyone who went up against her got a face full of wall or dirt, or a new bruise or scar to add to the collection. Once Astrid was two seconds away from pinning Clarisse, when she swept the leg and Astrid ended up with her face in the dirt and Clarisse's boot on her head.

"You're letting your anger control you too much" she would say while helping Astrid to her feet. "It's like we talk about, deep breath, relax, and just let go."

Astrid did as she was advised, and closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath.

"Good. Let's go again!" Clarisse ordered excitedly. After a few kicks, punches, flips and whatever, Astrid pinned Clarisse to the floor with her arm twisted behind her back.

"Ow, ow! Okay you win!" she pleaded painfully. Astrid let her up feeling like the king of the world! She beat her, she couldn't believe it!

"That was, pretty good!" Clarisse praised while rubbing her arm. Astrid smiled with pride, but her heart sank by the one word Clarisse said next,

"Again!" she got into a fighting stance and the battle began all over again.

Hiccup and Clarisse had returned home after a long day of training the dragons to relax, and then Clarisse's draki training. Hiccup was utterly exhausted; he just passed out on his bed without a word. Within seconds, Clarisse heard faint snoring coming from him. She smiled and threw a blanket over his sprawled out body, petting Spectrum on the nose and bidding Toothless goodnight before climbing up to her beam and falling asleep.

Whilst growing up as a pirate, Clarisse never dreamed much. The only times she had dreams were with Tia Marina during her draki training, and that was only with the dream pills- powder tablets that ease the mind into what seems like an alternate reality, with a made up mission and adventure in which you control the outcome, but don't know it. This however, was very different.

Clarisse woke up on what felt like a mushy sand-pit. She groaned uncomfortably and slowly got to her feet. Clarisse tried taking in her surroundings; though she couldn't get her eyes to focus on anything. It was like she could see it, but she wasn't _seeing_ it. She stood on the beach of Berk; it was the dead of night and a storm thundered and crashed in the distance. She turned when she heard the unmistakable sounds of battle. Clarisse looked up at what appeared to be a fight in the air. She made out seven dragons, each one with a rider, all blowing fire, swinging sword and what-not at what looked like a cross between a bat, wolf, and crocodile. Each horrid creature had the head of a croc that was slimy and lined with spines and dark green scales. Rows of bloody and sharp teeth lined their mouths and their eyes were blank red. No pupils, no irises, just a blood-red glazed over eyes. They had wolf-like bodies with matted down, pitch-black fur and long coiling tails, and two large bat-wings lifted them through the air and attacked the seven riders. But they slashed through the demon creatures like a hot knife through butter. The wind and rain ripped through Clarisse's hair as she watched the battle, two of the riders- a boy and a girl, and they were circling what looked like a giant, black dragon. But something was rather horrific about it. It seemed fuzzy and blurred as if the huge beast was made of shadows. No, I'm serious, it was made of shadows! It's entire gigantic figure shifted and faded through the air like black oil dissipating through clear water. The dragon was not like any dragon Clarisse had ever seen before, other than its shadow-physic, its eyes glowed blood-red and there was no feeling in its eyes. Every dragon she'd seen had at least some emotion to it, but this, this was just… like a puppet. The dragon turned its huge head to look Clarisse dead in the eyes before it opened its gaping mouth and roared. The sound was so loud it numbed her ears; she fell to her knees with her hands over her head. But after a minute the sound just, stopped. Clarisse slowly opened her eyes. The scene of the stormy beach was gone, Clarisse was just, nowhere. All she could see was inky blackness for miles, and, Hiccup.

The man who stood before her looked like her twin, but older. The man wore iron armored boots and formal brown trousers. He had a fiery red tunic and a dragon's skin belt and vest with gold lining, and gold gauntlets. His sure coat was morning grey with copper shoulder armor. A sword hung at his belt and a golden crown sat atop his head. With a bristly beard on his chin and a golden marriage ring on his left ring-finger.

"Who… who are you?" Clarisse stammered. It's not that she was afraid of this man; it was just that it confused her that he looked like the grown up version of Hiccup. The man only chuckled heartedly,

"Dear girl, it amuses me how little this island knows of its own history, I am Solaris, king of the sun, and of the day" he explained. Clarisse only stared at him,

"Hi." Was all she could get out.

"Fear not dear girl, I come to bear a message, you and your brother are in danger." Solaris had a look of up-most seriousness and fear in his voice and in his eyes. Clarisse looked into his eyes, they were gold. They seemed to have energy and a power that moved within them, they reminded her of the sun.

"What kind of danger?" she asked him, she said it with a bit of edge. And why not? Clarisse was tired of things in her life coming out of nowhere like a sucker punch, and now some weird dude was in her head telling her she was in danger. Yah right! Solaris however, didn't look like he was messing around.

"There is an ancient prophecy Clarisse, older than you, older than me, as old as the sun and moon themselves. I was a part of it, as was my sister and my wife, and the three who came before them, and before them, back and back and back." Solaris looked into her eyes, though they shone like the sun, they looked sad. It was as if he was warning her that this prophecy nonsense was going to happen to her.

"Well that's cool and all, but, what does that have to do with me?" Clarisse asked, though she didn't show it, she was afraid. She was afraid of this danger Solaris said she was in, she was afraid when that storm took away her parents, heck! She was afraid when she saw Hiccup's face for the first time. She didn't ask for any of this! So why did it have to be her? Why her? Why. Solaris saw tears pricking at the back of Clarisse's eyes, the heaviness in her heart that was weighing her down. He walked over to her and gently placed his arm over her shoulders to comfort the teenage girl.

"Dear girl, be not afraid. I was much the same when my sister and I discovered our destiny. But I assure you, this is not what you must fear most." Solaris advised.

"Wow, great advice" Clarisse muttered under her breath. Solaris looked into Clarisse's eyes with sadness and pity,

"Clarisse, little Babydoll, my sister and I, we tried so hard to defeat the evil that threatened us, and we succeeded, but at the cost of our own lives. You and Hiccup have the chance to relive that timeless story, but to change the ending. My dear Tempest and I were sacred out of our minds when she took hold of my dear sister and tried to control her. Luna was the most vulnerable, she was a single light surrounded by darkness. I didn't listen to her muffled pleas for help, and in doing so I decided my fate." Solaris looked at his feet, looking like he wanted to cry, Clarisse wouldn't have judged him, but he held back his tears with much effort.

"Remember dear girl, if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything." Solaris ended that note with Hiccup's classic smile, which made Clarisse relax a little. "Don't worry about your brother, I will protect him, guide him, I'll be with him always, my sister will be with you as well" Solaris backed away from her before his eyes began to glow like two super-nova's! Clarisse had to shield her eyes from the blinding light, it glowed brighter and brighter…

Clarisse sprung awake with a cold sweat, nearly falling off her beam and onto the floor.

_Are you alright Clarisse?_ Asked a voice in her head. Clarisse blinked her eyes in obvious confusion. She knew that voice. That night at dinner when Clarisse told Hiccup and his friends about the fire crystals, the voice that told her to ask about Hiccup's amulet. she then remembered Solaris' advice, his sister would watch over her.

_Luna?_ Clarisse thought.

_Hello Clarisse._ Luna answered back with a gentle tone. Clarisse's mouth fell open. This was just fantastic! Note the sarcasm.

Around this time was when Hiccup began to wake up. Clarisse looked down at him and sighed. She quickly whipped the sweat from her brow and jumped down from her beam. Clarisse began to assemble her accessories, in other words- preparing for the rider's first day of mental training. She smiled to herself at the thought of them inside her mind; running around shooting guns and killing imaginary monsters.

"Hey" Hiccup said as he sat up in bed. Clarisse looked at him and gave a smile in return. Clarisse pulled out the leather pouch with Tia Marina's dream pills. She'd used them to go through her mental training; they throw you into a trance-like state in which you are transported into the deepest corners of the mind. Where she was put in an alternate reality where she'd have to face her greatest fear and conquer it. It hadn't been easy, but she passed with flying colors. She just worried about how the riders would handle it.

"Okay, today we will begin your first day of mental training." Clarisse explained. She and the other riders had gathered in the arena with their dragons. Toothless was lying down and swishing his tail back and forth while Spectrum chased it. No matter how much of a horse he looked like, he would always act like a giant cat. The scene was kind of silly, but Clarisse stayed focused. The other riders looked thrilled to be done with physical training, but also nervous about whatever mental training was.

Clarisse fished the leather pouch out of her pocket,

"What's that?" Astrid asked, she said it like she was interrogating Clarisse. Hiccup's twin just rolled her eyes and fished seven pills out of the small pouch.

"These," she held up the pills for the riders to see. They were just small white tablets in a circular shape. They didn't look like anything special, but appearances are meant to fool you.

"These are what I like to call dream pills. You eat one, and it throws you into a trance, you're transported into the depths of your own mind. It's like a dream, but you control this world." Clarisse took eight more of the small tablets and tossed one to each dragon.

"What are you doing?" Astrid asked accusingly. The others looked worried as well, out of concern for their dragons. Even Hiccup looked skeptical,

"Yah, I thought we were going into the mind or, whatever" he said.

"We are, but we'll need more than just muscle and smarts, we'll need transportation" Clarisse tossed Spectrum his tablet and he crunched it down like it was a kitty-treat. The other dragons looked skeptical, Toothless looked at the banshee like he was crazy.

"oh right, of course, silly me" he replied with a hint of sarcasm. Clarisse held the seven white tablets in her palm, holding her hand out to the riders.

"Bottoms up" she smiled. The twins just shrugged and each took one, Tuff slung a wink at Clarisse before taking one- she growled in return. This guy was so dense, Clarisse thought. Snotlout took one in his hand without a single thought. Though he looked utterly terrified, Fishlegs took a pill and downed it quickly. The dragons saw their humans taking the strange tablets and took after the example. They each crunched down on the white pills; oddly enough, they tasted like smoked fish!

Hiccup looked Clarisse in the eyes, her jade irises shining in a crystalline pattern and her pupils thinned. She nodded once, and he understood. She had no intensions to hurt any of them. Hiccup puffed out his cheeks and took a tablet. Astrid just stood with her arms crossed, pure doubt and irritancy in her stormy blue eyes. Hiccup flashed his gentle smile, and her anger softened. Clarisse smiled too, but Astrid just scowled at her and took the second to last dream pill.

"By the way we're all gonna die" she said with a sarcastic grunt. Clarisse chuckled in reply,

"Alright, a word of advice, you will be unprepared." The others exchanged nervous looks, the twins just looked excited.

"But, that's the fun part." Clarisse said finally before gulping down the white tablet. The others were quick to follow her, each crunching onto the powdery pill. Hiccup had to admit, it didn't taste nearly as horrible as he'd imagined.

"'Tastes like, smoked trout" Astrid pointed out. the others nodded in reply. Hiccup began to feel light-headed, like there was some… force pushing down on his shoulders.

"Whoa, what's going on?" Astrid demanded, she held her head in her hands. Snotlout, the twins and Fishlegs also looked somewhat dizzy. Clarisse was blinking very quickly, as if trying to stay awake.

"Don't worry, just let go." She said groggily. While blinking slower, Clarisse began to sway back and forth on her feet. When she looked back up, her jade eyes were glazed over and she fell to her knees. Clarisse hit the sandy floor with a thud. Hiccup took a step forward to help her, but just fell onto his face beside his twin. He heard his friends drop as well, everyone had their eyes glazed over with a layer of foggy white. Hiccup took a deep breath and closed his eyes, letting the inky blackness swallow him.


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12 Where is my mind?**

Hiccup's eyes flew open. He passed out in the arena -thanks a lot Clarisse- but now, he had no idea how to describe where he was now. He was freezing, and could feel snow crunching under his feet as he stood up. The icy winds whipped against his face and through his hair. Through the racing storm, he could make out mountain peaks overshadowing him in the storm.

"Hello!?" he called out, cupping his hands over his mouth. He could barely see anything, the snowstorm created a thick fog that clouded his field of vision. He swore he saw something move in the storm. It looked like a figure stumbling through the snow, as the figure moved closer; Hiccup could make out only one detail. Two jade-green dragon eyes.

"Clarisse!" he called out to his sister to let her know he was here.

"Hiccup!" she called back, breaking into an easy run to get to her twin. She made it to him and stood in front of Hiccup with a mix of excitement and adrenaline in her eyes.

"Where are we?" Hiccup demanded his heavy breath visible in the cold. Honestly, Clarisse didn't know. She kept looking around like she was looking for someone, and then Hiccup remembered. Astrid! Toothless! His friends! Where were they?

"Where's Astrid?" he said in a lower, more serious tone. Clarisse looked him in the eye like he was overreacting; she put two fingers to her lips and whistled as loud as she could. The shrilling noise echoed off of the iced rocks. For at least three seconds Hiccup heard nothing but the wind in his ears. But then he saw it, the wailing banshee and night fury dragon springing up out of the snow and rolling around in it like a kitten on a blanket. Hiccup jumped back in surprise, Toothless tackling him and licking his face while Spectrum got a pat on the nose from Clarisse. It took Hiccup a while to figure out how they got to this place. The dream pills take you to an alternate reality in your mind huh? Well that was great if not utterly impossible and terrifying.

"Hey!" shouted an irritated and rather familiar voice. "Anyone there?! What is going on!?" Astrid shouted into the storm. Hiccup could see her walking through the thick snow with Ruffnut, Snotlout, and their dragons, they looked fine, but Astrid looked furious.

"Good to see you guys are still alive!" Clarisse had to yell through the deafening sound of the wind. Astrid ran up to them and wrapped Hiccup in a hug and punching Clarisse in the arm. Now that Astrid wore a dragon crystal, her punches actually hurt! Clarisse rubbed her arm and turned to the others.

"So, where's Fish and Tuff-guy?" she asked. Hiccup figured she meant Fishlegs and Tuffnut, who were still nowhere to be found. Ruff and Snot shrugged and Hiccup began to look around. They had to be here somewhere, wherever _here_ was. Stormfly growled in the cold, her spines actually looked like they were shivering! Astrid hugged her dragon's head in attempts to calm her down and keep the nadder warm.

"Help! Somebody help me!" called a muffled voice.

"Fish!?" Hiccup called back. The big guy was nowhere to be seen, but they all heard his muffled cry for help even in this storm.

"Help! I've been tricked by an evil sorceress and now I'm in an alternate dimension!" Fishlegs called. Clarisse furrowed her brow, evil sorceress?! She listened to the panicking boy, tracking his voice to a rather deep hole in the snow.

"Hey Toothless, come help me with this" she asked the night fury. He jumped up to go help, which surprised her a bit. She explained to him to dig around the area she was standing, the dragon excitedly obeyed and began to dig like a dog looking for a bone. It was pretty funny to watch. They heard Fishlegs call out again when Toothless finally dug him out,

"Someone help! I've been thrown into an alternate dime… oh, hi" he said nervously at Clarisse looming over him with Toothless. His dragon Meatlug had her tiny wings slung over him as best she could to keep him warm.

"For the record, 'evil' is a bit exaggerated, and I'm a pirate, not a sorceress" she smirked as Hiccup and his friends helped Fishlegs out of the hole in the snow, Meatlug following close behind.

"Okay, now all that's left is…" a huge explosion rang out to the riders. The sound was like thunder in their ears, and the bright light of fire that exploded from the ground. It looked like a giant, red bug-zapper that sprung out of the snow like a spring.

"it actually works! Now uh, where am I?" asked Tuffnut's voice. Everyone sprinted to where the explosion came from. Clarisse growled under her breath; she _knew _she was missing a few of her dad's grenades. Down in a melted crater of snow was Tuffnut, looks like everyone got to the stormy mountain via snowstorm.

"Tuffnut!" Hiccup shouted into the hole. The male Thorston twin looked up and he smiled his cocky (yet somewhat cute) smile.

"Hey guys, what's up? You all cool?" Astrid rolled her eyes and Hiccup just puffed out his cheeks and ran a hand through his hair. Clarisse stifled a mocking laugh. She extended a hand to help him out of the hole, to which she could easily have climbed out of. Tuffnut grinned and took her hand, climbing up out of the hole. There must have been a rather slippery patch of ice, because Tuff unexplainably slipped. He fell back into the hole, taking Clarisse with him. He landed on his back and Clarisse landed on top of him with a grunt. He laughed, seemingly out of breath,

"Not what I'd expect on the first date." Clarisse just glared at him, no one noticing the slight blush creeping into her cheeks.

"Oh, do shut up!" she growled. Clarisse pushed herself up and got to her feet, Spectrum pulling her and Tuff out of the hole. She gave him an enforced punch in the arm for good measure. Clarisse approached the riders,

"Alright, we're in the infinite realm of the mind, whose mind, I don't know. But, this will be the first mission of your mental training. In the coming mission, each of you will face your greatest fear, when or where, you won't know it. But when you face your fears and conquer them, we'll have already won." Clarisse explained. She mounted Spectrum and the others followed suit. They lifted off into the snowy air, the storm having no effect on their flight speeds and patterns. Hiccup flew up next to his twin, she was looking down at something on the ground. He followed her gaze, he had no idea how he didn't notice before, but there was a battle raging in the fortress.

The entire scene in front of Hiccup made him feel like he was dreaming. An enormous mountain sat before him, a towering palace carved into the peaks. Seriously, the palace was IN the mountain! The stone bricks were stacked elaborately and perfectly to make the tower and palace walls. The castle included three towers and a gaping gateway with a sealed with a wooden door. The raging snowstorm seemed to circle the structure, like it was keeping something out. Or maybe, something in. that, and rows of catapults were lodged in the castle walls for protection.

Clarisse steered Spectrum to a steady hover; the others followed suit. She unclipped her crossbow from her back and jerked outward, snapping the bows into place. The bow really was quite the weapon. It was completely automatic; it fired arrows continuously with more than one round at a time, and a mechanism that redrew the bowstrings. It was two flat bows stacked on top of one another, including features like the grappling hook, flaming arrow, dynamite arrows, even a mechanism to split the bows in half to shoot on both sides of the shooter. The bow and strings were collapsible so Clarisse could carry it on her back.

"Okay, here's the drill," she began, Astrid drew her axe and Hiccup unsheathed Inferno, pressing the button that lit it on fire. "Spiked and Blondie will follow me into the courtyard, Fish and Snot will stay in the air and keep the creatures at bay from above, and the twins will man the 50cal up here, and the 30 down there. Our mission: break through the defenses, and kill the creatures in our way. In the palace underground, we'll find the baby and rescue it." Her voice fell into a serious tone,

"If we fail, the creatures will kill the baby, and use it as a sacrifice to their dark mistress. It's our job to prevent that at all costs." She explained. Everyone was a bit on edge, and why not? They were about to dive head-first into what could turn out to be a bloodbath, with unknown _creatures_ that Clarisse was describing. But under all circumstances, everyone seemed to keep their cool.

"Sounds like fun" Tuff smirked. Clarisse, surprisingly, returned it with a playful smile. She loaded her bow, making a _chic-chuck _sound in response. Clarisse steered Spectrum into a downwards dive, the wind whiplashing her hair like she was caught in a typhoon.

"Oh, and one more thing," she added, "Don't wake the alpha" she said with a playful smirk. The others exchanged worried glances, wondering if this was really a good idea.

Hiccup could see the fortress courtyard through the storm, simple if not terrifying. Cobblestone floor, dead trees here and there, and the army of werewolves wearing armor and holding battle axes. Wait what!? He backed up a bit in his mind, his eyes locked on the horrific creatures before him. They looked like wolves with hulking furry biceps that stood on two legs. The wolves had snarling mouths and backwards knees. They wore black iron armor and carried battle weapons with unsettling red stains on the blades. Yet Clarisse showed no fear as she and Spectrum landed smack in the middle of the commotion. Spectrum flapped his powerful wings and made a hole in the fighting so Hiccup and Astrid could land. Hiccup looked at her with a confused expression, she just shrugged and steered Stormfly to land next to Clarisse. Hiccup twisted Inferno in his hands, puffing out his cheeks and veering Toothless towards the coming battle.

Clarisse watched as Hiccup and Astrid landed next to her and started fighting the werewolves. She smiled devilishly and started firing her crossbow at any wolves that came near. Each of her arrows made a direct hit, downing the creatures as Hiccup swung his blade like a maniac-clearly having not a lot of weaponry experience.

"What are these things?!" Astrid demanded as she lodged her axe in a werewolf's back. Clarisse was shooting like a war man, but took a split second to answer her question.

"Werewolves, they stole a baby dragon, and plan on sacrificing it as a token to their dark moon goddess" she explained. One wolf dodged all of her fired arrows and was close to slashing into Clarisse, but she back flipped out of his path and slashed her dagger across his back. Once the silver blade came into contact with the creature, he howled in pain and exploded into a black mist. The mist was sucked out of existence like ants in a vacuum cleaner.

"Nice" Astrid complemented. Clarisse smiled in return, she sheathed her bow and brought out her katana sword, preparing for close combat.

"Blondie, on your right!" she shouted. A wolf was running strait for Astrid, but she quickly reacted by performing a corkscrew over Clarisse as she ducked to shoot a wolf with her pistol. Astrid landed perfectly on her feet with a surprised grin, slashing through the attack wolf with her axe. He crumpled into nothing but a pile of ashes. Hiccup just stared with an open mouth. Clarisse noticed this and laughed,

"I think my training has made your girl ten-times hotter!" she had to shout over the snarling and howling of the wolves, and the shooting of guns. Hiccup shook his head and the three continued with the fight, their dragons retreating to the air for a bird's eyes view, and to help Fishlegs and Snotlout. Some of the wolves were using mechanical wings to get an advantage, and it was a real pain to deal with. But Hiccup surprised himself even more when his girlfriend and sister both flipped over and under the wolves with ease, shooting and stabbing like pros! He was so fixed on their prefect fighting technique that he almost didn't notice a wolf coming straight towards him! He saw it at the last minute and involuntarily cart-wheeled over the wolf, stabbing it in the torso with Inferno, landing in a crouched position, his sword still lodged in the now ash-pile wolf.

"Your training has made him hotter too" Astrid smirked, making Hiccup turn a little red. Clarisse rolled her eyes with a laugh, and the battle continued.

Up in the air, the twins were a little confused on how to work the 50cal Gatling gun. Heck, they were confused with any gun! But luckily Ruffnut figured out how the use it, and was rapidly firing bullets at the air-born werewolves. They must have noticed this from below, because the leader was snarling angrily at his wolves. Probably saying something like: woof! woof! They're beating us! Woof! The leader werewolf barked furiously at his soldiers, who grunted in annoyance and climbed into the catapults! The line was cut, and they were launched into the air, two of them landing on Belch and Barf as the twins used the 50 and 30 cal.

"Whoa!" Ruffnut exclaimed as one of them landed behind her. She couldn't turn the gun to shoot it, so she was left undefended. The wolf attacked her from behind, locking her in a deadly head-lock. She tried punching it but with no avail,

"Ruff!" Tuffnut shouted. Her brother turned the 30cal on the wolf and shot multiple bullets into its chest, loosening its grip on his sister. Ruffnut took the chance and elbowed the wolf in the snout, knocking him off of their dragon, the zippleback slashed through the wolf with its tail, finishing the job. Ruffnut caught her breath, this was already getting dangerous. Awesome!

"Saved your sorry butt!" Tuffnut laughed. They would have started a fight, but more werewolves were launched in the catapults, and they had to shoot them all down. Toothless saw this and shot a fire bomb at the catapults. The bomb engulfed the wooden weapon in bright flames, destroying the thing. Snotlout and Fishlegs both saw this and followed suit, shooting fire bombs at the catapults and ballista's in order to gain an advantage. Ruff and Tuff flew in on Belch and Barf, shooting down the remaining wolves and giving Hiccup, Astrid and Clarisse clearance on the ground.

"Thanks you guys, keep it up!" Clarisse shouted to them. They gave their wolfish grin in reply and flew off.

With no more wolves to fight, the three teens had a clear path to the nest.

"This way" Clarisse waved Astrid and Hiccup to follow her, sheathing her katana and re-loading her pistols and bow. The entrance to the mountain palace was guarded with more wolves on the other side of the large double doors, but Clarisse shot them both in the head with her crossbow, and they crumbled to dust. Honestly, Hiccup had never felt so confident and fearless. It was like here, in the mind, he wasn't the scrawny boy who rode and trained dragons, he was a Viking. Strong, fearless, unbeatable. But he knew he shouldn't get used to it, once training was done, he would give up this power, and he was alright with that.

_A wise decision boy._ Said a masculine voice. Hiccup turned; there was no one in the halls of the fortress except for him, Clarisse, and Astrid. So who was talking? He shrugged it off when he and the girls were rushing down a long spiral of stairs.

The end of the staircase took the teens to what looked like an underground dragon's nest. The place was littered with bones, animal, human, even dragon. This made Hiccup's arm hairs stand on edge, what kind of monsters would do this? He thought.

"We're here" Clarisse pointed out. Hiccup looked at his twin; she was looking at something with sad eyes. Hiccup followed her gaze to what looked like a cage made of bones. From a distance, it would have looked semi-normal, a cube-shaped cage with an elaborate lock that would take an average Viking hours to pick. But that's not what made Hiccup and Astrid simmer with anger. Inside the bone cage was a thin-probably starving- exhausted, and terrified, baby dragon.

"Astrid, guard the door, Hiccup and I will get her out of the cage" Clarisse explained. Astrid nodded and went to stand by the door to the nest. Clarisse looked Hiccup dead in the eye, and nodded once as a sign to move quickly. The twins slowly approached the bone cage, careful not to spook the baby. Hiccup examined the dragon from where he stood; mud-brown scales, rough hide, spines on its head that ran down its back, big wings with hooks in them that also served as the dragon's arms, and a rather adorable spiny tail that swished back and forth as the baby slept. Clarisse unsheathed her dagger and began to pick at the lock which, oddly enough, also seemed to be made of bones. Hiccup saw that whenever he heard a faint 'click!' it meant that she'd hit a weak spot in the lock and it was close to opening.

Finally after what seemed like forever, the lock clicked open. Clarisse carefully opened the bone door and Hiccup stepped inside, sheathing Inferno so he wouldn't scare the baby dragon. The small creature began to stir; it looked up at Hiccup with wide eyes. They were scarlet red, not like blood, more like a rose. It then looked terrified and began to push itself back against the cage wall, trying to get away from them.

"Whoa whoa, shh, it's okay" Hiccup soothed. The baby didn't listen, so Hiccup took a step closer.

"Hiccup, be careful!" Astrid whisper/yelled over from her guard spot. He looked the rose-dragon in the eyes, trying to sound as kind and as trustworthy as possible.

"We're not going to hurt you, we're here to help" he smiled his warm and goofy smile, and the baby seemed to relax. It was about ¼ bigger than Hiccup, it reminded him of a baby Red Death, but this baby was too afraid and cute to be a Death. The dragon approached him slowly, Hiccup stayed perfectly still as it sniffed him curiously.

"We just want to help" he said softly. The dragon looked him in the eye with its rosy eyes, and it seemed to understand that they were here to help it escape. The baby rubbed its large head against Hiccup's chest and purred softly.

"Good work Hiccup, let's get out of here" Clarisse suggested. Hiccup nodded and stepped out of the cage, the baby not hesitating to follow him.

"So, um, Rosy, do you know how to get out of here?" he asked the baby. The baby Red Death, or as she was now called, Rosy looked around the nest. Her red eyes froze whilst looking at an open sky light above their heads, the three followed her gaze.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me!" Astrid complained. Clarisse smirked; she petted Rosy on her spiny head before whistling. The sound echoing off the stone walls.

Outside, the other riders were now holding off another round of werewolves, who had heard that the nest had been infiltrated and they were trying to get in. Ruff and Tuff were doing their best with the Gatling guns, but they were only doing so much. Fishlegs and Snotlout's dragons had run out of shots, and had resorted to ground fighting. Fish just stayed in the air while Snotlout battled wolves like a boss!

Ruffnut and Tuffnut had steered Belch and Barf down to the ground, and were rapidly firing bullets at attacking wolves,

"Take that you ugly mutts!" Ruffnut shouted angrily. Where were they all coming from!? She thought.

Spectrum was flying around shrieking like a gull! But he stopped when he heard Clarisse whistle. She needed him! He turned his head to face Toothless and Stormfly, who were flying around shooting fire bombs. Spectrum called out to the nadder and fury with a sense of urgency, they turned to look at the banshee. He shrieked in the direction of the tower, most likely saying that their riders needed help. The two dragons followed him, hopefully to get to the teens before any wolves heard Clarisse's call.

"We'd better hurry, someone would have heard that" Clarisse said as Hiccup soothed Rosy into a trance-like state.

"You know, when this mission's over, I'm gonna miss you Rosy" he coed softly to the baby dragon.

"Rosy?" Astrid asked with her hands on her hips and a playful smile on her face.

"What? Her eyes are red, it suits her" Hiccup shrugged. Clarisse smiled, maybe Hiccup wasn't _that_ annoying, he was actually a lot like her. Don't go spreading that around though. It wasn't long after that they heard an eerie howl echo through the vast room. Clarisse drew her katana immediately, ready to defend Rosy, who cowered behind Hiccup. About twenty werewolves piled into the nest room, surrounding the three teens, completely trapping them. Great. Note the sarcasm.

One wolf stepped out from the crowd, wearing what looked like an entire outfit made of real dragon skin! Rosy growled at him, but stayed behind Hiccup for protection. The leader wolf growled back, this time more menacingly,

"Your attempts to free this beast will be in vain" he said in a deep, demonic voice.

"If you get out of our way then they won't be" Astrid snarled. The werewolves only laughed mockingly, but then something weird happened.

The leader wolf, with his dark grey fur and gold eyes, froze in place. He just stared at the three with a blank expression. He twitched once, grunted, and his eyes changed. They were longer scarily calm and gold, but a bright pink. Not pink as in "awe so cute, she's wearing pink!" I mean, "oh my gosh, your eyes are so puffy their turning pink!" that's what was happening to the wolf, his eyes turned bloodshot and red, his irises shrinking to small dots in a very unsettling shade of pink. He spoke again, this time calmer and more… feminine?

"Awe, how sweet. The children are playing 'mommy' with a dragon" the wolf said in a mean voice, "Pathetic!" it hissed in a female voice.

_Clarisse, you and your friends need to run!_ Luna's voice said.

_Why?_ Clarisse thought, _who is speaking through the wolf leader?_ Luna didn't answer.

"You won't be sacrificing anyone, so get out of our way!" Astrid barked angrily. The other creatures howled with laughter, but the leader just stared into Clarisse's eyes with his pink ones, his furry lips curling into a terrifying grin.

"Give us the baby!" one wolf growled. The others barked in agreement. They ignored their leader's strange behavior and began to attack the three teens, who slashed through them with their weapons. But, then the fun started.

The werewolves were lit up in a tsunami of flames and fire, Toothless and Stormfly were to thank for that. They three dragons touched down in the nest, using the open ceiling to enter and save the day.

"Toothless, hey bud!" Hiccup said happily, never more excited to see the night fury.

"Good work boy, you did it!" Clarisse praised while hugging Spectrum. The wolves were starting to recover, drawing their weapons and getting ready to attack.

"Time to go!" Astrid ordered. They nodded and mounted their dragons. The creatures charged to attack, weapons raised above their heads, but the three teenagers lifted off into the air. Rosy sat curled up in a tight ball behind Hiccup, who petted her gently when she trembled with fear. They met up with the others at the palace entrance, Clarisse exchanging a few high-fives, and one 'accidental' punch to Tuffnut's jaw. The castle and the wolves faded into the distance, becoming nothing more than a distant howl. Clarisse closed her eyes, feeling heaviness throb in her head that weighed her down. She felt herself slip away, letting the black abyss take her.


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13 What is going on!**

Clarisse blinked open her eyes, she was in the arena, right where she passed out. Her glazed-over eyes returned to their normal shade of forest green. The other riders were starting to stir as well, Astrid looking like she just watched someone die. Clarisse got to her feet with a laugh,

"Geez Blondie, you look like you watched someone die!" she cackled. She had to say she was exhausted! But, she did just fight her way through an army of werewolves to rescue a dragon that wasn't even real. All in all, a pretty normal day for her.

"You, Clarisse, are insane!" Astrid shouted before cracking a smile and bursting out laughing.

"That, was, so awesome!" Ruffnut exclaimed excitedly.

"Can we do that again?" Tuffnut asked.

"NO!" everyone, including Clarisse, shouted angrily. Hiccup bent over, putting his hands on his knees and puffing out his cheeks.

"Wow, just, wow!" he breathed heavily.

"I know right!" Clarisse replied with her devilish grin. "You guys, must have some kind of luck, most don't even survive the first round!" she explained, clear amusement in her green eyes.

"Thanks, I think" Hiccup replied. Clarisse flashed her twin a genuine smile, these teens were… well, they were something.

"Alright, I don't know about the rest of you guys but, I am in the mood for some food." She said nonchalantly. The others nodded in agreement, Clarisse following them out of the arena. But she began to see black spots clouding her vision. She slowed her pace and blinked her eyes multiple times to try and clear it, but she only stumbled from dizziness.

"Clarisse?" Hiccup asked, "You okay?" she could hear the concern in his voice, she shook her head to clear her mind and maybe shake away this weird dizziness, but she couldn't. her vision became more spotted and blurry,

"Yah I, I think… I think I'm gonna take a break." And with that she fell to the ground, her arms sprawled out over her head and her face in the dirt. The others sprinted to her side, worried for their friend. Astrid took her hand and checked for a pulse, it was there, but it was faint. Hiccup flipped his twin onto her back and gripped her shoulders,

"Clarisse? Clarisse can you hear me? Clarisse!" his sister didn't respond, her eyes flashed open for a split second before her lids closed again. Her eyes had rolled into the back of her head! Hiccup let go of his twin, blinking his eyes rapidly. His vision started to blur, and he started to feel light-headed. He shook his head, trying to stay on his feet,

_Don't fight it._ a voice commanded, the same voice from before, when they were fighting the wolves. _Just, let go._ Hiccup felt some sort of comfort in this voice, like listening to it was the right thing to do, he would have objected, but he already fell to his knees and passed out. the twins just lay on the floor of the arena unconscious.

"Oh great!" Astrid said while face-palming in annoyance and worry. She stood by her boyfriend and his sister, not knowing what to do. All she could do was wait for them to wake up, which would be a while.

Hiccup felt like a full-grown gronkcle just sat on his rib-cage. He groaned and sat up, holding his head in his hands. All he could remember is waking up from Clarisse's mental training session, then she passed out, he rushed to help her, and then HE blacked out! he heard a groggy moan next to him. He turned to see Clarisse laying on her side, her brown hair splayed across the cold floor. He reached out to her with a gentle hand, shaking her gently,

"Hey, you okay?" he asked softly. She blinked open her jade eyes tiredly, shooting him a cautious look with a raised eyebrow before replying,

"Yah," she sat up with a grunt, "where are we?" Hiccup honestly didn't know. He glanced around the stone room. It looked like an underground castle. Not like the horrific palace of the werewolves, this was more like an actual castle. The cedar ceiling climbed four stories high, stone pillars with strange symbols all around them held it up. Three of the massive stories held balconies over-looking the vast palace room. The walls were decorated with strange assortments of books shelves, musical instruments, and almost every weapon you could think of! There was also an enormous fireplace, big enough for Toothless, Spectrum, _and_ Stormfly to sleep in. the fireplace was flanked by two chariots, the animals to pull it nowhere to be seen. One chariot was made of gold, the whole thing! And lined and decorated with all sorts of rubies, ambers, and other fiery gems. The second chariot was shining silver, lined with a type of gem that seemed to move and shift like the aurora borealis itself! Also decorated with glimmering pearls, opals, and diamonds. A giant snake-skin rug sat between them, and the chariots were faced by a giant statue of the god-king Odin. He stood proudly in the center of the great room, seemingly looking down on the twins who stood before him.

_Oh good, you're both awake!_ Said a masculine voice. Hiccup and Clarisse turned to face whoever spoke. It was a tall, muscular man who looked like an older version of Hiccup.

"Solaris?" Clarisse asked with a raised eyebrow. Before Solaris could answer, another voice spoke up behind him.

_Well, you're not exactly awake._ Said a beautiful woman with brown hair and silver eyes.

"Luna?" Hiccup said, a bit surprised to find the moon queen here.

_Well who did you think was going to tell you both about the prophecy?_ Solaris said nonchalantly. Hiccup and his twin shared a look, one that read 'is this for real?'

Luna elbowed Solaris in the ribs, him giving an annoyed grunt before Luna continued.

_As my brother has already told you Clarisse, this prophecy is very important, the fate of the world rests with the both of…_ Luna explained before Clarisse interrupted,

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up! I'm not a part of any prophecy! I just lost my parents, and I am Not in the mood to be told about my so-called 'destiny'" she said using finger quotes. "So to hell with you guys because I'm a French/Scandinavian pirate and I'm not part of ANY prophecy!" Clarisse snarled, anger showing in her eyes. Surprisingly, Luna remained calm at Clarisse's outburst, and she opened her mouth to say something else, but Hiccup had one very important question on his mind.

"Uh, excuse me? Yah, hi, um, what prophecy are you guys talking about?" he asked, getting looks from Solaris and Luna, as if remembering he was there.

_Boy, my name is King Solaris, this is my sister, Queen Luna, and we have awakened after one thousand years because of you two. _The sun king explained.

"Yah, but why?" Clarisse demanded, her arms crossed in irritancy. The moon queen sighed sadly,

_Because you're both important, you've been chosen_. She explained in a soothing yet serious voice.

"Chosen for what exactly?" Hiccup asked, he too was getting a little annoyed. Did these two always have to be so vague?

_To do what we did of course! When we were your age, we were chosen to re-live the prophecy as well, and the world is still standing because of it._ Solaris grimaced as if the memory was not very good.

_This story has been written and re-told for who knows how long!? And each time it's been re-lived, it tells of an ancient evil rising from the ashes to bring forth a new age of darkness and misery. But to be stopped by two children. One of the day, and one of the night._ Luna explained, gesturing to Solaris and then to herself.

_When day and night are truly united, they hold a power beyond anything ever created. Their powers, though very different, work in perfect harmony, and only with this power can that evil be defeated._ Solaris added. Hiccup understood, at least a little bit. What the king and queen were saying was that he and his twin were part of some ancient story regarding the defeat of some great evil, stopping the apocalypse and saving the world. They were saying that since they already re-lived it, they were now 'passing the torch' down to Hiccup and Clarisse!

"So you're both saying that, we, have to stop some great evil, or it's the end of the world?" Hiccup asked, his mouth hanging open in shock. The twins before him nodded in unison.

_You can never know what form the heroes will take. You of all people know what that's like Hiccup._ Solaris added with a slight chuckle. Clarisse gave her twin a look, silently asking what he meant. He replied with a look that said, "I'll tell you later." She nodded and turned her attention back to the king and queen.

"And, that storm?" she began,

_My wife had the courtesy of conjuring that up, we couldn't have you leaving when the prophecy had already begun._ Solaris explained. Clarisse shot him a glare that would probably make anybody else melt. Anger boiled up inside her, threatening to explode. Hiccup was about to say something to change the subject. Too late.

"WHAT! _You_ made that storm? What is wrong with you two?! My family was caught in that storm, they _died_ in there. And you made it to keep me here on purpose?!" she shouted in a fit of pure rage. The king and queen actually looked taken aback, even a little frightened. But they kept their cool as Luna replied,

_Clarisse, you didn't let him finish. Tempest did create that storm, but not to destroy your ship or kill your family, the storm was designed to only turn you around and for you to end up back in Berk. But it was tampered with and Tempest no longer had a hold on it. She couldn't control it anymore._ She said with sad eyes. Clarisse seemed to sense the truth in her words and her glare softened. But that didn't stop her anger for the ones who made the storm that took her home away.

"Then who tampered with it?" she asked in a scarily calm tone. Luna sighed and Solaris looked at his feet,

_We don't know, this evil has been gone for over a thousand years, we don't know what form they've taken or what they plan to do to you both._ Luna explained, fear in her voice as if she was telling her children they were about to die. Her brother took up her words,

_That's why we're here. We will watch after you and prepare you for what is to come. But, no matter how much we help you, we cannot even remember our story, so yours will depend on you._ He said in an encouraging tone. Though Hiccup was freaking out of his freaking mind, he nodded calmly in reply. Clarisse did the same and the anger was gone from her face.

_Oh, and one more thing,_ Solaris began,_ say hello to my wife for me_. Hiccup and Clarisse shared confused looks, what the heck was that supposed to mean? Before they could ask, the king and queen locked eyes with their look-alikes and their gold and silver eyes began to glow brightly. The light engulfed the two teens, before they blacked out for the second time in the last hour.

"Hiccup! Hiccup wake up!" Astrid yelled as she tried to wake up her unconscious boyfriend. Hiccup and Clarisse had been out of it for the past hour, and everyone tried frantically to wake them up. Well, almost everyone. Fishlegs tried dumping a bucket of water on them, which didn't work. The twins kept poking them with sticks and seeing if they reacted, Astrid had to shoo them away, especially Tuff who kept trying to give Clarisse mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, Astrid having to hit him over the head with the hilt of her axe to get him to back off.

"Hiccup wake up please!" she was practically hysterical, she didn't want to lose him. She'd already come too close to that too many times before. Just when she was about to break down in tears, Hiccup and Clarisse snapped up, wide awake and gasping for air. They were both drenched in a cold sweat, plus the cold water Fishlegs had dumped onto their heads, and their eyes were wide with shock. Before either of them knew what was going on, Astrid practically tackled Hiccup in a hug.

"Stop almost dying! It's getting annoying" she said with joyful sarcasm. Hiccup now noticed what was going on and hugged her back. Clarisse rolled her eyes next to them, she was never into the whole lovey-dovey-whatever thing. Hiccup saw his twin's reaction and laughed a bit. Astrid pulled away from his grasp, grabbing his shirt and pulling him into a kiss, which he gladly returned. At this, Clarisse made a noise to dignify that she was disgusted,

"Get a room!" she said with an annoyed tone. This made things awkward so the couple pulled apart, exchanging nervous smiles before getting to their feet.

"I'm okay too by the way, thanks so much for asking!" Clarisse added with obvious sarcasm, getting to her feet. She looked at her wet hair with a confused expression, before Tuff came up with his regular mischievous grin,

"You know, I would have saved you, but Astrid here wouldn't let me" he said with a snarky voice. Clarisse looked back at Astrid questioningly, who furrowed her eyebrows and replied,

"He tried to give you CPR" she laughed. Clarisse shot Tuff a nasty glare, but then raised an eyebrow, as if she was debating whether she didn't like that or not.

"I'd let me die too" she said with a smirk. Her statement snapped everyone back into the current situation, remembering what just happened,

"Okay, so, what happened to you guys?" Ruffnut asked.

"Yah, your eyes rolled into the back of your heads, it was awesome!" Tuffnut added, returning from the dangerous attempt to flirt with Clarisse.

"No it wasn't!" Astrid snapped. Hiccup put a comforting hand on her shoulder, making her calm down a bit.

"Chill-ax Blondie, we're fine, let's move on" Clarisse said in her best caring voice. It wasn't very good. She flashed her playful smirk and turned to exit the arena, when Hiccup caught sight of a painful looking bruise formed on his twin's shoulder. Her shoulder armor drooped low enough for him to notice it, it looked like it hurt, but she gave no signs of pain or discomfort. He shrugged it off; it was probably just from the nasty fall they both took an hour ago.

"Come on, it's getting late, and I don't know about you but I'm starving" Hiccup said with a laugh. Astrid smiled defeated and followed the others out, also noticing Clarisse's newly formed bruise. It confused her, Clarisse landed face-first on the ground, there was no way she got that bruise recently. She pushed the thought away and the teens retreated to the great hall for dinner.

"That is hilarious!" Clarisse laughed as she held the door open for her twin. Hiccup laughed as well and replied,

"Yah, my eyebrows didn't grow back for a week!" Hiccup was telling Clarisse of his first adventures with Toothless, including the time he shot a fireball in their flight path, and flew through it. His sister then seemed to notice Stoick in the room, doing his chief duties or something.

"Hey dad" Hiccup greeted his father. He gave a warm smile and Clarisse just nodded coldly, her face showing no emotion or feeling.

"Hello son, hello Clarisse" he replied with his fatherly voice, trying to get his daughter to talk to him. But she just gave him a firm nod before retreating to their room. Hiccup sighed, he wished his sister would accept Stoick as her birth father, even if she didn't think he was her real father.

"I just don't get it" he started, "Just when I think she's starting to warm up to Berk, she does something like that." He did have a point. Only a minute ago was Clarisse laughing and talking with him like they were real siblings, and now she was giving him the cold shoulder like she did when they first met. It seemed like now she wasn't his sister, just his twin.

It's not like Clarisse didn't want to have a family again. She wanted that like crazy! But, Hiccup and his father weren't exactly her type of family. Clarisse was a lying, stealing, cheating pirate, and she'd always been raised that way. But though the Nightmare Moon was the most respected ship on the seven seas. Well, feared and respected. Well, feared. But her father had been kind and courageous if not fearless and a down-right amazing pirate. Every village, town, or village they robbed, they only took what they needed, and never killed anyone. If they needed money, they took it. If they needed food or supplies, they took it. Larson Merrill had raised his daughter well, and even though he was dead, and Clarisse watched him die, it didn't weigh on her heart in a way it would most people. Larson had always told his daughter that whenever you feel pain, guilt, or sadness, don't let it consume you. Don't let it control you and weigh you down. Take that pain, and turn it into something good. Make it your reason, your goal. Find away to make things right for yourself, then you can be strong enough to make things right with the ones who've been wronged.

Clarisse sighed sadly while holding her pendant close. She smiled slightly at the ridiculous life-lessons her father always shared with her. In a way, he was like her personal wise-man. He'd even given her the famous katana when she was only nine, saying that the last thing someone would expect is for a little girl to be the perfect swordsman. She laughed at the memory of her mother scolding Larson when Clarisse accidently swung the blade too close to her face and cut her chin, leaving behind the scar that remained. Over the years it faded and became less visible, but it was always there. She'd never thought about it until now, but, where was Hiccup's mother? Clarisse hadn't seen anyone in the village that could be his and Clarisse's birth mother, was she missing? Or dead? Did she leave them behind? Spectrum had squeezed himself through the window, with a lot of will power, and settled next to Hiccup's bed. Clarisse sighed happily and sat down next to him, his wing draped over her like a protective blanket. Clarisse rubbed his nose and he purred affectionately,

"You have a tight bond with him" Hiccup said as he came up the stairs. Clarisse gave him a small smile and turned back to her dragon with warm eyes,

"Yah, I've been through hell and back with this guy" she said. Hiccup sat down beside them, Toothless coming up out of nowhere and flicking his human in the face with his tail before settling down. Clarisse smiled at this, now those two had a tight bond. Her eyes fell to Hiccup's fake leg, her previous curiosity coming back to her,

"Hey, I meant to ask you, how did that happen?" she asked, pointing a finger at his leg. Hiccup shifted it uncomfortably before answering with a joking shrug,

"Oh, you don't want to hear that" he replied with his goofy smile. Clarisse laughed mockingly at this,

"Um, yes I do" she shot back with determined eyes. Hiccup could tell that his twin wasn't backing down, but he didn't really want to engage in the story about his leg and the Red Death, so he gave her the best suiting answer he could.

"Rein check" he said calmly. Clarisse shot him an annoyed glare before shrugging. She leaned back against Spectrum with her hands behind her head and her eyes closed. That's when Hiccup sighed,

"What a day huh?" he said to break the silence. Clarisse opened her eyes with a slight laugh,

"Yah, in the few weeks I've been here, I found a twin, I'm a reincarnated queen, my 'twin brother' and I are supposed to stop some 'ancient evil' before the entire world is destroyed, and to top it all off, my ship was totaled!" She rattled on while counting the events on her fingers. "What the heck is going on with my life!?" she laughed before leaning back against Spectrum again, who at the moment was swishing his tail back and forth repeatedly in some sort of personal game.

"Speaking of your ship," Hiccup said after a few minutes of silence, "What was that book we found down there?" he asked, remembering the old book that was on the crumbling ship in the broken piano. Clarisse's eyes widened a bit, remembering the tattered book that was still in her satchel. She made a darting motion to grab her bag, which still hung over her shoulder, and fished out the old journal. Clarisse quickly flipped through the ivory pages before closing it defeated.

"What does it say?" Hiccup asked. Clarisse sighed with annoyance and defeat,

"I don't know, this language is one that I'm not familiar with, I can make out some words and phrases, but the rest just looks like gibberish" she explained. She handed the book over to Hiccup, who flipped through the pages to see what she was talking about. Clarisse was right; it was just a bunch of nonsense on paper. Nothing but weird symbols covered each page, top to bottom. All he could recognize was the strange yet oddly familiar insignia on the leather cover. It was a sun with a crescent moon intertwining with it in a still stage. Hiccup's hand immediately went to his amulet; the sun in the symbol was the same one as inscribed in the book! His green eyes darted to the moon amulet around his sister's neck,

"Hey, look at this" he said, pointing to the symbol. Clarisse stared at it for a moment, wondering how she'd missed it before! He hand went to her pendant and she started to fiddle with it carelessly.

"That's, my amulet, at least half of it" she explained.

"Yah, mine too" Hiccup replied, showing her his own amulet. She stared at it for a moment before continuing,

"What does all this mean?" she muttered under her breath.

"And why do I get the feeling this has something to do with the prophecy the king mentioned?" Hiccup replied, worry creeping into his voice. Clarisse looked at the book with thoughtful eyes, she was thinking about who could help them in a situation like this. Sure Solaris and Luna offered their help, but Clarisse had a feeling they needed someone wiser, someone who knows magic and predictions better than anyone. They needed a witch, and Clarisse knew just who to ask.

Hiccup noticed his sister hastily get to her feet and start rummaging through her satchel. After a few minutes of finding nothing, she dumped out the bag's insides out on Hiccup's desk, continuing the search.

"Uh, any chance you'll tell me what's going on?" he asked, looking at Clarisse as if he was actually considering her mental stability. His twin ignored him and sorted through her stuff before picking up two of the fire crystals.

"Bingo!" she exclaimed, clearly excited.

"What do we need those for?" Hiccup asked, not quite understanding what Clarisse had in her head at the moment. She merely ignored him,

"What you said before, about this symbol having something to do with the prophecy, I think this book is involved somehow" she explained. She handed the book back to Hiccup, who stared at it in his hands. A light-bulb went off in his head, gears turning and clicking into place like puzzle pieces.

"Of course! Solaris is the Sun king, so it makes sense that I wear this amulet, I'm his reincarnation, so I have to wear his symbol!" he said, now getting as excited as Clarisse was.

"Exactly, and I wear the moon, and I'm Luna's host, and she's the Moon queen" Clarisse replied. Hiccup's attention turned back to the book,

"But, we still don't know how to read this." Clarisse tapped her chin thoughtfully before replying,

"To read ancient writing involving white and black magic, we'd need someone who is experienced in both" she explained. Hiccup thought about this for a moment, someone who's experienced in white and black magic? Then he figured it out.

"You mean, like a witch?" he asked, his eyebrow raised. Clarisse crossed her arms, annoyance in her eyes.

"In a way, yes. And I know just the witch who can help us" she said, determination shown in her eyes. Hiccup thought about this for a moment, Clarisse was a pirate, who knew witches. Really?

"Okay, where is she?" he asked her. Clarisse sighed, irritated,

"That's just it, I haven't seen her is so long, I'd have to use a pretty powerful locater incantation to find her" she explained. And now his sister knows magic. Cool, but utterly freaky.

"Okay then, I say we rally the riders in the morning and decide then" Hiccup suggested. Clarisse nodded before setting the crystals on his desk. Spectrum nuzzled her before lying down to sleep; she petted his nose in reply before climbing up onto the beam that had basically become her bed. She had a pillow and blanket up there always, along with other necessities one might put on a night-stand. Hiccup shook his head with a laugh before climbing into his bed and falling asleep.

What the heck was going on with his life?!


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14 The Journey begins**

Hiccup had that dream again. He hadn't seen the alternate reality in so long, he'd forgotten about it. But it wasn't done with him just yet. It was the same as he'd dreamt it weeks ago; standing alone on a cliff in the middle of a starless night, the pungent smell of smoke was burning his nose, and the sound of maniacal laughing behind him. Hiccup knew what he would see when he turned around, and it terrified him, but he no longer had control over his own movements. He fought as hard as he could, but he couldn't resist the urge to look behind him. What he saw wasn't like the other scenes he'd dreamt before, this was worse. It looked like a stone pyramid. Three enormous spire stones leaning against each other in a triangular formation. A large spherical dragon's fire crystal connected the stones at their meeting point, as if holding them together with some kind of invisible bond. Hiccup noticed that each stone was covered head to toe with complicated and intricate knots and patterns, each crowned with an ancient symbol. One stone had a sun carved into it, one had a crescent moon, and the last had a lightning bolt. He stared at the stones in awe, admiring the detail in the designs, it must have taken years to finish them. Hiccup suddenly was ripped from his calm state by the sound of the malevolent laughter, he darted his head around, looking for the source, but he was completely alone.

"Who's there?" he called out. the laughter only continued, as if his fear was the funniest thing in the world. But I assure you, nothing was funny about this kind of laughing. "Show yourself!" he demanded, trying to sound as brave as he could.

"Oh, my sincerest apologies young king, I thought you'd feel right at home in the place that holds your power" a sinister female voice said. young king? What? Oh right! Hiccup was the reincarnation of Solaris. How he kept forgetting that, he didn't know.

"Who are you? Come out!" Hiccup called. The voice only laughed again before a dark shadow was cast over the landscape. The darkness seemed to shift and gather in the center of the stone triangle, morphing and changing into… a woman? Hiccup couldn't help but stare, and not in an attracted way. He stared in horror at the woman before him; she had dark brown hair that was styled into a fairly elegant bubble braid. (don't let the name fool you, on her it looked terrifying). The woman wore a dress made of pitch black velvet, the collar, cuff, and midsection were decorated with tens if not hundreds of diamonds and jewels, but it did not make her the least bit more approachable. Her belt was also covered head to toe in the sparkling gems, dangling and making jingle sounds when she walked. A silver necklace with a moon carved from onyx lay around her neck, and a jeweled crown sat atop her head. She sneered menacingly at Hiccup's shock, snapping him back to reality,

"Who are you?" he demanded. The woman only smiled demonically, she took a step towards him,

"Oh, I'd expect you to know me Hiccup, but being a reincarnation does have its down-sides I suppose." She said nonchalantly, as if it made perfect sense, which it didn't, at least not to Hiccup.

"We've never met." He replied.

"_We _have never met young king, but I've already seen your sister many times, she's pretty good _villain_ material if you ask me" she purred. Hiccup scowled at her,

"What do you know about Clarisse?" he snarled, suddenly feeling a lot braver and stronger. He could feel Solaris willing him on, to demand answers and kill this woman if necessary. But Hiccup kept his cool. The woman only laughed,

"You don't even know? That is priceless, honestly Solaris I thought you would have told those two about the curse." She said to Hiccup. He got the feeling she wasn't talking to him that time.

_What is she talking about?_ Hiccup asked the sun king. He got no answer.

"But no matter, it's too late to stop it now" she said, waving her hand carelessly in Hiccup's direction.

"What do you mean?" he asked her. She looked him right in the eye, and for once Hiccup noticed her eyes; her irises were a sickly shade of white, her whites, oddly enough, were very bloodshot and looked like they might explode. Looking at them almost made Hiccup want to puke, they were so disgusting. The woman continued in a much more menacing tone of voice,

"What I mean is that your sister is on my list, and that's how it's been since that incident with Luna, there's nothing you or Solaris can do to prevent it now" she sneered.

"What are you talking about!?"

"I'm talking about the curse I set on Luna one thousand years ago, I saw her and her brother growing stronger and I knew they would stop me. But I saw Luna's weakness, I saw her darkest and most powerful demon, so I used it. I cursed her to become my host, my vessel for destruction." She explained. Hiccup stared at her in horror,

"Who, what are you?" he asked in a scared voice. She only laughed,

"I go by many names, but you may call me what Luna named herself after I took hold of her…" she eyes began to glow blood red and Hiccup took a step back,

"I, am Laufeia." She said in a demonic voice. Hiccup drew Inferno, which surprisingly was with him In this dream. "Please," Laufeia cackled, "This is a dream Hiccup, you have no real power here yet." With a simple flick of her hand Laufeia flung the sword from Hiccup's grasp. It clattered against the ground and vanished in a puff of smoke.

"listen carefully boy, I am darkness itself, I cannot ever truly be defeated, you and your sister have no chance of preventing my curse. It is repeated with the prophecy, and there's nothing you or anyone else can do to prevent it." She said confidently.

"Why are you telling me this?" Hiccup asked, fear creeping back into his voice again. Laufeia laughed again before lunging at him. Hiccup tried to dodge but she was too quick. In a swift motion she had him by his neck, his feet dangling a foot off the ground. She growled at Hiccup, him clawing at Laufeia's hands trying to free himself with no avail.

"Because you won't even remember this conversation when you wake up." She hissed with one final laugh. The demon's eyes glowed red again, this time the red light engulfed Hiccup. Choking him, suffocating him. With the deafening sound of an agonized female scream, Hiccup was ripped from his dream.

Hiccup sat up in bed, running a hand through his choppy hazel brown hair. He puffed out his cheeks and sighed,

"Whoa, haven't had that dream for a while." He tried to remember all of it; there was more to it this time. There was the burning village and the mysterious woman like always, but now there was another place as well. A vast field with three huge stone stacked against one another in a pyramid, with a round fire crystal holding them in place at the tip. It was strange, but he shrugged it off when he heard Clarisse gathering the remnants of her leather satchel.

"Nice of you to join the living" she smirked. Hiccup smiled and climbed out of bed, giving Toothless his regular pat on the snout.

"So, we're telling the others our plan today" he said, trying to break the silence that had already stretched on for two minutes.

"Yep" Clarisse replied. She tucked her hand-cranked stun-gun into her bag while humming a serene tune, as calm as Toothless when he gets his claws on dragon-nip.

"Okay, are you seriously _this_ calm?" Hiccup asked in slight disbelief. Clarisse ceased her humming to reply,

"Relax Hiccup, it's a classic sales pitch; I tell them the plan, Blondie will probably complain for a bit, you whip out your puppy-dog eyes, she agrees, easy-peasy" she explained. Hiccup thought for a minute. He didn't want to admit it, but that did sound like the most accurate scenario.

"Do you ever do anything that doesn't involve tricking people into doing what you want?" he asked with a skeptical expression. Clarisse shrugged as if it was obvious,

"I'm a pirate, it always works like this." Hiccup just looked at her before shrugging. She was a pirate, and under circumstances, they would need her if this plan was going to work.

"You want to do what?!" Astrid demanded. It was about late morning and Hiccup rounded the dragon riders to the arena to discuss his and Clarisse's plan. Unfortunately, Hiccup had to explain the whole lot. The amulets, the king and queen, the prophecy. And to top it off, dealing with their reactions.

"The plan is simple: locate my aunt, convince Stoick to let us borrow a ship, sail to wherever to find her, and hopefully get answers about this prophecy." Clarisse explained for what felt like the hundredth time. It really was a simple plan, if it didn't involve days-maybe weeks-of sailing on a ship with a pirate for a leader.

"You found out about this stuff weeks ago and didn't tell me?!" Astrid growled. Clarisse only smirked,

"Ah, I didn't know you cared so much about me Blondie." Astrid shot her a murderous glare, before answering,

"Not you!" she turned her gaze back to Hiccup, wearing an expression between anger and hurt. Mostly anger. Hiccup gave her his trade-marked puppy-dog eyes, just as planned, and explained it as carefully as he could.

"Astrid, Clarisse has a plan, we go see her aunt today, and I promise we'll get the answers we need, you'll just need to trust me on this" he said it as if we was trying to sooth the Red Death itself. Might as well be. Astrid crossed her arms, still unconvinced.

"Look Blondie," Clarisse began, Astrid shut her up with her deadly glare, but Clarisse stood tall and continued, "Astrid, this prophecy is bound to happen soon, we don't exactly have all the time in the world, but, my aunt may have answers, answers we need. If we don't do this, it could end badly" she said it as if she actually cared. She did, but, she was never good with showing emotion. Astrid's gaze softened the slightest bit and uncrossed her arms.

"_If_ this works and we actually find your aunt, we come right back here" she said with the up-most seriousness in her voice.

"Deal" Clarisse replied.

"And if it doesn't, then I will choke you out, with your own braids." Astrid added in a scary calm tone. Clarisse furrowed her eyebrows with a flabbergasted expression. "I will wrap those braids around your neck, and choke you out."

"That's a little Jurassic don't you think?" Clarisse said with a slight smirk, not exactly getting the concept of Astrid threatening her. Hiccup thought this as a good time to seal the deal,

"Okay, then it's settled, we set sail tomorrow morning." The others nodded in agreement,

"This is gonna be so cool!" Tuffnut exclaimed.

"Yah, it is so on!" Ruffnut added. Clarisse laughed at their enthusiasm, it was pretty exciting.

"Wait!" Fishlegs interrupted. The others silenced their talking to look at him questioningly. "We don't even know where her aunt is." He explained. Clarisse reached into her bag and pulled out the two fire crystals,

"Not to worry Fish, I had thought of that" she said. Clarisse held a crystal in each hand. Clutching them tightly, she began to chant. The others didn't speak a lick of Latin, but Clarisse knew it better than the back of her own hand. She chanted 'Ostende nobis' meaning, 'Show us the way.' With every word she chanted, the crystals began to glow. The other riders had to back up because they were afraid the gems would explode.

"Ostende nobis!" she shouted before striking the crystals together. The colorful flames erupted like before, but something was different this time. The flames seemed to shift and gather in one place above the riders' heads, changing in color until a picture was visible. The reds and the gold of the fire formed what looked like a mountain covered in snow. It wasn't like the mountains on Berk, this was _way_ bigger. The peak of the mountain was grazing the sky, Hiccup thought that if he stood at the top, he could see everything. He'd literally be at the top of the world.

The blue fires twisted into the scene, changing it to look like a building. The place had a curved roof with gold painted shingles, carved wooden columns holding it up and covered head to toe with intricate designs and patterns.

"It, looks like a monastery" Astrid pointed out. the others nodded in agreement. Clarisse seemed to be observing the picture better than anyone else, seeing as she was the one who summoned it. As slowly as the scene was moving, it was suddenly sucked back into the crystals. Clarisse had to catch her breath as she excitedly slipped the gems back into her satchel.

"Asia, she's in Asia" Clarisse said excitedly.

"That's great!" Hiccup replied.

"It is?" Snotlout added.

"Yes, she's somewhere in the Himalayas, we'd need to travel by boat and then fly the rest of the way. But once we reach the mountain range we'd need to travel on foot from there" Clarisse started pacing back and forth while talking to herself about supplies, time limit and whatever.

"Okay, we know where your aunt is, we have a plan," Astrid started,

"Yep, all that remains is the fact that we need a ship" Clarisse added. Hiccup tapped his chin thoughtfully,

"I'm sure dad will loan us a ship for the trip."

"You're sure?" she said, her eyebrow raised.

"Absolutely…"

"Not" said Stoick. Hiccup and Clarisse had asked him to borrow one of the ships to sail and find Clarisse's aunt. He, unfortunately, said no.

"Dad" Hiccup began, "Tia Marina has answers we need, and we know it. All we need is a ship. Me, Clarisse, and the rest of the dragon's training academy will handle the rest." Stoick held an expressionless face, his eyebrows furrowed and his arms crossed.

"No, it's too dangerous. I already lost both of you at least once, I won't risk that again" Stoick rumbled. "This prophecy is nothing but a bunch of coincidences, you have no proof that it ever even existed!"

"And that's just another reason why we need Tia!" Clarisse shot back with her arms crossed now as well. Hiccup had to admit he admired Clarisse's bravery; not many people can say they've stood up to Stoick the Vast so fearlessly- and lived. Clarisse took a deep breath before continuing, this time in a softer tone,

"Listen Stoick, I didn't believe it myself at first, but this prophecy is real. I know that you're worried and that you care about me and Hiccup and you don't want us to get hurt," she changed into a serious voice, "But if we sit here and do nothing, then you _will_ lose us, for good this time." That seemed to be the icing on the cake, because Stoick's gaze softened and he uncrossed his thick muscular arms. His green-eyes gaze dropped to the floor,

"And you're sure nothing bad is going to happen?" he asked softly.

"Absolutely, we leave today, and I promise we'll be back before you can say 'Where's Hiccup?'" Hiccup reassured his father. This seemed to lift the chief's spirits a bit,

"Well then, you'd best be needing that ship, I suppose." He chuckled heartedly. His two children shared a smile, their plan had done its work. Now the rest was up to them. "For a journey like this, you'll need the finest ship in the Berkian navy." Now Clarisse was getting excited; she'd been craving a chance at the sea again. The salty air through her brown hair, the sun shining on her face and causing the ocean water to glitter, and making it look like magic. Her excitement was clearly shown in her expression, finally- an adventure. This was going to be so…

"Not, cool!" Clarisse whined. The next morning was upon them, and the twins were standing in front of Berk's 'finest' ship; the Solar Flare. Hiccup gave her a look that said, 'what are you talking about? Cruddy and rotting ships are the best Berk has to offer!'

"What do you mean?" he asked with an arched eyebrow. Clarisse had a bone to pick with this piece of… well, piece of ship!

"_This_ is the best ship in the Berkian navy?" she asked him in a mixture of sarcasm and disbelief. I mean, she knew Vikings were illiterate, uncivilized asses, but this was just plain gross! The wooden structure of the Viking ship was splintered all over, most of the painted sides were chipped or peeling, and the sail had more stitches and patches than Frankenstein! It looked like it should have been named 'Just got hit by a Solar Flare' instead.

"Sure is." Astrid answered as she and the other riders came up to the edge of the docks with their packed items.

"I'd hate to see the worst." Clarisse growled under her breath. She twitched her nose the slightest bit in disrespect at the amount of luggage the teens had brought. One thing Clarisse had been taught by years of traveling, stealing and plundering as a pirate: travel light. She'd always only traveled with the weapons on her back, a satchel of food, and a bottle of rum. That was all she needed.

"Blah, blah, blah can we get moving?" Snotlout snorted impatiently. Clarisse and Astrid both shot him a glare,

"Welcome aboard the Solar Flare, ladies and gentlemen," Clarisse said playfully, "this 'fine' vessel will be your home for the next few days, I will be your captain, please refer to me as such, or if you'd like, you can call me Babydoll." Clarisse pointed a thumb at herself, explaining everything in a bossy yet polite tone of voice. Hiccup had to admire his twin's pirate-like leadership skills. Then again, I guess he thought it natural for a pirate to be a natural at sailing and sea-fairing life.

"Wait, _you're_ going to be captain?" Astrid asked in a half joking tone. "I don't remember deciding on that."

"Yah, maybe we should take a vote or something?" Fishlegs suggested. Clarisse rolled her eyes when the others nodded,

"Hate to break it to you Fish, but this isn't a democracy, this is piracy." She explained nonchalantly, "And in piracy, you obey the captain, and who's that?" Clarisse tapped her chin in a false thoughtful expression. "Oh wait, that's right, Me!" the girl burst out laughing, whipping away an imaginary tear when Astrid crossed her arms and narrowed her stormy blue eyes.

"Anyway, let's get moving, we're wasting daylight!" Clarisse snapped as she boarded the Viking ship.

"How in Thor's name is_ she_ your _sister_?" Astrid asked Hiccup. The two watched with disbelief as Clarisse placed her hands on the ship's helm, seemingly examining the wooden frame. Tuffnut came up to her and arched an eyebrow flirtatiously, she replied by growling and holding one of her loaded pistols to his face. He jumped back in surprise and landed on his butt,

"Yah, you'd better walk on!" Hiccup heard his twin hiss at Tuffnut as the Thorston boy quickly got to his feet again.

"I have no idea." Was all Hiccup could say to that. He heard Clarisse snarl at Snotlout threateningly,

"I'll shoot someone in public, I will!" she said as Tuff hurried away. Hiccup and Astrid exchanged a shrug and they climbed aboard the Solar Flare. Luckily, Clarisse had put her pistol back into her body holster, her hands firmly on the arms of the helm. Her eyes locked onto the storm that still surrounded Berk completely. The distant sound of thunder and faint flashes of lightning seemed to draw closer with every passing second, even though the ship wasn't moving yet. Hiccup thought back to what Solaris had said; that his wife, Tempest, Hiccup thought her name was, had created that storm to prevent Clarisse from leaving Berk, Hiccup, and the prophecy with them. The sun king also explained that someone had tampered with it, making it into a Grade-A, apocalypse-now quality hurricane. Even worse, it was formed in a perfect circle surrounding the island, preventing any ship, Viking, or dragon from leaving.

_Hello?_ Hiccup thought, _anyone home? Solaris?_

_You called?_ Solaris answered in a charming tone with a bit of an echo.

_Hey, can you and Luna do anything about that storm?_ Hiccup asked/thought. The sun king was silent for a moment, as if mentally tapping his chin in Hiccup's mind. He shuddered at the thought; it made him a tad uncomfortable to have someone_ in_ his head. What with all his hardships from the previous years; every complete wipeout on Toothless, every crash-and-burn with Astrid while they were growing up, and he didn't even want to think about if Solaris had the fuzzy memories of what had happened after Hiccup passed out in his fall after the fight with the Red Death.

_Well,_ Solaris began. _My dear Tempest cannot touch the storm just yet, she needs a host to do that, and at the moment she's having a hard time locating the lucky girl. But with Luna's and my combined power, we should be able to part the storm for just a little while. You'd have to move fast._ He explained. Hiccup caught a glance at Clarisse, who seemed to be talking to, well, no one. She was saying words into thin air, talking to herself. Hiccup assumed she was chatting it up with Luna, maybe she wanted to know a way through the storm-wall too.

Clarisse had just finished a full-on conversation with the moon queen, and she had to say- way too serious and depressing for her taste. She'd been thinking about how in the heck she was supposed to get herself, Hiccup, the others, _and_ their dragons -who were fairly comfortable with staying below deck- through that hellish nightmare of dark clouds.

_Luna? Any ideas?_ Clarisse asked in her head. The queen was silent for a moment before answering.

_Solaris and I can conjure a spell, it can part the storm, but only for a few minutes. So you'd better get moving .we don't have much time._ She explained, her voice laced with obvious worry. Clarisse gave a firm nod in reply.

"Alright you Viking bilge rats!" Clarisse bellowed over the deck. "we're shipping out! Astrid hoist the sail! Ruff, you and Tuff man the tiller and take us to port!" Clarisse was barking orders like Stoick. It made Hiccup laugh slightly; he'd always wondered why he was nothing like his father, who was stubborn, fearless, and a true Viking. He guessed that all the Stoick that didn't go into to Hiccup went into his sister instead. Begrudgingly, the riders obeyed Clarisse's commands, mostly because A) she was the only one with any experience with sailing and the sea. And 2) because only she knew the best way to get them all through the storm alive.

The villagers waved the teens off with calm calls of luck to them. Hiccup looked back at his home as the Solar Flare pulled farther away from Berk's shores, and closer to the terrifying unknown that awaited them on the other side of that storm. He shook his head to clear his mind. Hiccup walked up to the helm, Clarisse was manning the wheel so he decided to spark up a chat.

"Have you been talking to Luna?" he asked as if it was an easy topic to go on. Clarisse glanced at him before turning her attention back to the open ocean in front of them.

"Yah, she says that if she and Solaris can part the storm, even a little, then we should survive." Clarisse explained. Hiccup followed her gaze at the coming wall of darkness that was about to swallow them like an annoying pill. "If that's true, then I think I can get us through." Her tone was more serious than Hiccup had ever heard it. He stole a glance at his twin, her jade green eyes locked ahead of her. He wondered if what his father had said on the night he met Clarisse was true. If she really did look just like their mother.

"You're sure you can do it?" he asked with a mixture of skepticism and fear. Clarisse pulled her gaze away from the sea to look at Hiccup with a smirk,

"It hurts that you doubt me brother, dear" she chuckled playfully. I suppose you'd think Hiccup would be surprised. It was the first time in the weeks that Clarisse had lived in Berk that she'd actually called him 'brother.' But he could hear the sarcasm in her voice, see the resentment in her eyes. She may have said it, but that didn't mean she meant it. Hiccup knew that in her eyes, he was still just her twin, and not her brother. Clarisse's face dawned with realization and her face turned serious again. Hiccup sighed with slight sorrow. Maybe his dad was right; Hiccup didn't want to lose his sister again, but by now it was like he didn't even have one to lose.


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15 Zipplebacks and Banshees don't mix!**

After a few hours on the water, Berk had shrunken into the distance until you couldn't see it anymore. Fishlegs got sea-sick and the twins were fighting over who got crows-nest duty. Astrid had purposed that they all go below deck to sort through their supplies and decide on rationing. Clarisse- surprisingly-agreed and the seven teens, dragons included, were in the large room that Clarisse liked to call 'the Pit.' All the food and supplies had been spread out on the large round table in the center of the room.

"okay, we've got…

12 loaves of bread56 bottles of rum4 whisky bombs2 vodkas6 bottles of wineTequilaTomatoesCheeseLettuceApplesBananasEggsA chocolate bar A half-ounce of powdered sugar3 and a half grams of dragon nipMushrooms16 Dream pillsA wanted poster with Clarisse's face on itA clubAnd a copy of book 4 of 'the Odyssey.'" Astrid went through all the supplies while Fishlegs wrote everything down on a piece of papyrus.

"Book 7" Clarisse corrected. Astrid looked up from the food and junk,

"Hmm?" she said, a bit distracted.

"its book 7 of 'the Odyssey,' not book 4" she explained as if it was obvious. Fishlegs scribbled out the number 4 on the piece of paper and substituted it for 7.

"Okay, and we also have four loaded pistols, with one shot each." Clarisse smiled mischievously and picked up one of the loaded guns in her hand.

"Ah, I remember this one" she said as she waved the gun around carelessly. Hiccup cursed under his breath and semi-ducked under the table, a little shaken up by the fact that his twin was holding a loaded weapon. "You know this was my first gun, I kept this from when I was ten years old" she explained it as if the gun was a precious stuffed bear.

"That's cool, hey do us a favor and don't wave it around like that" Astrid suggested, she and everyone else was also starting to get nervous. Clarisse rolled her eyes with a fearless smile,

"Come on, I know how to handle a gun!" she said as she clicked the loading mechanism into place.

"Okay, I'll admit I respect my one cousin who can use a weapon, but that is making me very uncomfortable." Snotlout spoke up, sounding as nervous as everyone else felt. Everyone else started chiding Clarisse to put the gun down, scared she'd shoot them by accident or worse. On purpose. But she only smirked in reply,

"Okay, I'll put the gun down- Bang!" she mimicked the shooting-sound by laughing and pointing the gun at Tuffnut, who cowered and held his hands up in front of his face, making Clarisse laugh.

"Bang Bang!" she waved the weapon around like it was a plastic fairy-wand that a six-year-old would play with. Everyone either ducked under the table or held their hands up and pleaded with her to stop. But to be honest, Ruff, Tuff, and Snotlout thought that Clarisse's messing around was pretty funny and they respected her twisted sense of humor. Opposite to Hiccup, who was no fun at all.

"Bang, Bang, Bang, you're dead!" she giggled. The twins snickered at Clarisse's antics, clearly amused by a gun being pointed at them.

"Clarisse! Stop messing with the gun!" Astrid snapped. Clarisse stuck out her tongue before setting the gun back down on the table defeated. "Thank you." Astrid grunted in reply.

"Just trying to keep things loose Blondie, nothing to fret over." Clarisse said while pretending to examine her nails. Astrid glared before taking a breath and adding,

"These supplies should last us a full trip to Asia," she started, "And like Clarisse said, once we reach land, we'll fly onwards to the Himalayas, and go on foot through the mountains."

"Sounds like fun" Tuff smirked, flashing his cocky grin and arched eyebrow at Clarisse. She simply rolled her eyes and focused on what was in front of her, which, unfortunately, was Tuffnut. She'd be lying if she said he wasn't ruggedly and annoyingly handsome. Pale blue eyes framed by heavily knotted blond hair, a horned metal helmet and a mace hanging at his belt. He seemed to notice her looking him over, he grinned and shot her a wink. Clarisse growled back at him in reply, but for some odd reason, she felt her cheeks heat up a bit. _That _never happened before. She shrugged it off as anger before the meeting was adjourned and she went back to manning the wheel. Let's just say she didn't trust Spectrum to drive a ship into a storm. When she returned to the surface deck, Spectrum was at the wheel, turning it back and forth with his fishy tail like it was some sort of game. Toothless was sitting near him, watching the banshee with a mixture of confusion and interest. His head was cocked to the side inquisitively, Clarisse chuckled at the sight. She shooed Spectrum away from the wheel, taking his place. He croaked happily before trotting off with a flick of his wing. Clarisse rolled her eyes at her beloved dragon before looking forward to the storm that was very close now. She could feel the wind picking up, the sky growing darker with the overcast darkness ahead of the Solar Flare. Hiccup came up to stand beside her, his green-eyed gaze also ahead.

"Well, that's comforting" he said with a nervous gulp. Clarisse nodded to her twin. She replied with a serious, yet oddly excited tone of voice,

"Let's get this party started."

"This is insane!" Astrid shouted over the deafening sounds of the ocean. The Solar Flare was now in the belly of the beast, the eye of the storm, and they sure could use that parting spell Luna had talked about earlier. The ship was tossed about like a toy, the waves crashed down louder than thunder. And at the moment, Clarisse had a hard time deciphering the ocean from the thunder. Everything was a roaring muffle in her ears as water slapped against her face. The helm seemed to want to disobey any order Clarisse gave it. When she pulled it left, it yanked right, when she hauled right, it dragged her to the left. It was like one giant game of tug-of-war, and Clarisse was losing to a ship! The pirate girl looked up with squinted eyes; the sky that had been clear and blue not an hour ago, was now cloaked in darkness, and she didn't think this ship could take much more. But then she saw it. A small sliver of blue just ahead of them, she narrowed her eyes to see if it was just the sea playing a trick on her, but it was defiantly there. That one streak of sky-blue shining through the endless sea of black. Clarisse was so focused on the daylight that was so close to them that she didn't notice Astrid and Hiccup climb up the steps to stand by her.

"Admit it!" she barked over the noise, "we need to turn back, the ship can't take much more!"

"She can hold a bit longer!" Clarisse replied, her gaze locked ahead of her on that one slice of sky. She opened up her gilded compass, which surprisingly had stuck with her through everything since the Nightmare Moon, and studied the pointed arrow as best she could. It was wobbling back and forth between the N and the W, the sky was northwest. She turned her attention back to Astrid, who was staring at her in disbelief,

"What's in your head Baby?" Hiccup demanded. Clarisse winced a little at her nickname, why did she ask them to call her that again? Oh right, because she hated being called just 'Doll.' 'Babydoll' however, made her seem more fearsome for some reason. Clarisse pointed her index finger at the sliver of blue sky just up ahead of them, Astrid followed her eyes to see the small line of light.

"We're almost in the clear!" she answered with a chaotic grin. "Alright, Astrid, I'll need you to man the tiller, hoist it to the left and that should take us hard-starboard!" Clarisse barked over the thunder. Astrid looked at her like she was speaking a different language. Obviously she'd never sailed before,

"What?" she asked with an arched eyebrow. Clarisse sighed and rolled her eyes,

"That way!" she thrust her hand to the northwest, Astrid nodded and rushed to the tiller. The blonde with an effort pulled the wooden steering mechanism to the right. The ship creaked as it slowly pulled closer to the light. All of a sudden, a flash of black feathers flew by the pirate girl's face, startling her to a point where she fell back on her butt. What was that? She thought. The sound of cawing birds distracted her, what the heck were birds doing in this storm? She was ripped back into reality when she saw Hiccup grab the wheel, which was spinning the ship out of control.

"Clarisse!" he called, "I could use a little help!" the girl nodded and took the wheel from him, hearing another cawing sound that resembled a raven's call. Another flash of dark feathers rushed past her as well, but she did her best to ignore it and to stay focused.

Astrid was at the tiller, holding it in place, when a small mass of feathers slammed into the wooden wall of the ship with a loud bang. She gave a small startled yelp before seeing that the black smudge was a raven. It had crashed into the ship with full force, the bird thrashed around on the wooden floor-boards before cawing loudly and taking off again. What in Thor's name were ravens doing in this!? One by one more and more dark-feathered birds swarmed the ship, crashing into things and knocking the teens off their feet multiple times.

"Take that you little f…" I don't feel the need to describe what Clarisse said. She had Hiccup hold the wheel while she took care of the pesky birds. She took out both of her pistols and began shooting randomly. Some of the crazy crows had started attacking the teens with continuous pecks and scratches.

"Get it off!" Ruffnut screeched.

"What is going on!" Astrid yelped angrily. Clarisse turned the gun towards Astrid, trying to get a clear shot at the crow that was latched onto her blonde head.

"Hold still, I'm trying to help!" Clarisse pointed out. Astrid saw her pointing a gun at her and she immediately held up her arms to defend herself,

"Don't you dare!" she snarled. Clarisse ignored her and fired about three bullets at Astrid's back, hitting the crow right in the chest. It's black feathered body flopped onto the deck in a ruffled blob.

"Bulls-eye!" she laughed with a chaotic grin.

"Are you out of your mind!?" Astrid shrieked in a mixture of shock and fury. Clarisse smirked in reply until she heard the unmistakable sound of splintering wood. Her gaze darted upward to Tuffnut, who was up in the crows-nest. Somehow, the crows had managed to peck and claw their way through the wooden barrier that kept the watchmen from falling to his death. And Tuff was a little too close to the edge. In a matter of seconds, his foot slipped and he fell from the crow's nest, Clarisse wanted to shield her eyes, but she stopped herself when she heard the sound of tightening rope. Tuffnut's foot was tangled in some rope, and he was now hanging by his foot about twenty feet in the air. The scene was actually pretty funny, and Clarisse shook her head with a laugh, but she snapped out of it quickly. She unsheathed her dagger and began to climb up to save his whiney ass.

"Hey Baby, help me out a bit?" Tuffnut asked as he saw Clarisse climbing up the mass to get to him. She shot him a glare, her dagger in her mouth. His face was turning a little red from being upside-down for that amount of time, to which Clarisse gave a satisfactory smirk.

"You know," she took her dagger out of her mouth and twirled it in her hand, "I could leave you here for the rest of the trip." She said with her devilish smirk. Tuff's expression turned to panic, he smiled nervously as if trying to cover his ass.

"No! I mean… my head is about to explode here, so can you _please_ get me down from here?" he twisted his hands together in an upside-down plea.

"Sure thing Tuff-guy, just a sec." Clarisse flashed her mischievous grin before climbing up to the crow's nest. Those stupid birds were trying to peck her to death, she fired bullets at them but they just kept showing up. One of the black birds actually exploded when Clarisse shot it! The pieces of its body landed on Astrid below. She yelped in surprise and brushed the crow-bits off her shoulders frantically, though some dark feathers had lodged themselves in her blonde hair. Clarisse, the twins, and Snotlout all burst out laughing. It was pretty funny seeing the fearless and aggressive Astrid Hofferson yelp like a little girl.

"Sorry Blondie, my bad!" Clarisse called from above. Astrid yelled in anger, having it up to here with Clarisse. The pirate managed to clear away the crows so she could see in front of her face without being pecked in the eyes. She was trying to muffle her giggles with her mouth,

"When a bird explodes, it's funny in any scenario!" she cackled. Clarisse smirked at Tuffnut, whose face was redder than a ripe cherry. She located the ropes that were tied to his ankle, she took her dagger and sliced the rope like it was a strand of hay. But, she didn't take into account the coil of rope she was standing in. the rope coil constricted around her ankle and pulled her down with a yelp. Dang it! She cut the wrong rope! She swung in next to Tuffnut, their foreheads clashing and sending them into a daze. The two teens swung back and forth violently with the lurching of the ship; Clarisse was trying to reach her sword, while Tuff was just hanging there with a red pain-filled face. The Solar Flare was suddenly thrown sideways and Clarisse and Tuffnut slammed into each other again, this time though, it was way, _way_ more funny. They were facing each other upside-down, and Clarisse felt her daze be ripped away by the feel of Tuffnut's mouth contacting with hers. Her face reflected absolute horror and disgust, the male Thorston twin on the other hand tried to deepen the very, _very_ unintentional lip-lock. His pale blue eyes closed and his hand touched the back of her head trying to pull her closer. Clarisse felt white hot fury burning inside her, she drew back her arm and punched him square in the jaw. She heard the others below her cackling and howling with laughter, even Astrid was doubled over with tears of mirth welling up in her eyes.

"Oooh, the Viking and the pirate" Ruffnut snickered.

"I didn't think he was her type" Astrid added with a laugh. Clarisse growled.

Hiccup just wore an expression that would have been funny, if she wasn't hanging upside-down after a crazy and _much_ unintended kiss. Clarisse's twin had his mouth hanging open with and arched eyebrow and his right eye twitching a tad. It was like he wasn't sure whether to be surprised, amused, or angry. Clarisse rolled her eyes in annoyance, finally feeling the leather hilt of her katana. She drew the blade and sliced through the ropes that held her and Tuffnut. They fell from their snare and hit the deck with a thud. The blade lodged itself in the wooden floor merely an inch from Tuffnut's face, his eyes widened with shock.

"That was-" Astrid started. Clarisse held up her hand to shut her up as she got to her feet.

"Don't. Even. Say it." She said firmly. Clarisse dragged the back of her hand across her lips to get any taste of Thorston Twin off of her mouth. She undid her frizzy braids and ran her fingers through her soggy hazel hair. When she secured the two large braids with jeweled pins and the small braid with a similar pin, Clarisse felt the ship lurch to the side again. The other teens tried to find their footing while Clarisse raced to the helm, which was spinning wildly out of control. She quickly grabbed the wheel and struggled to keep it steady, the storm was pulling them left and right. And to be honest, Clarisse wanted to live. She directed her attention to the clear sky up ahead, determined to get them to it alive.

"Hiccup!" she called. Her twin rushed to her side, "Set a course for, that way." She pointed to the growing streak of sky blue. Hiccup nodded and hurried back down to the tiller, keeping it steady while Clarisse steered them free of the storm. The helm tried to pull her down, but she held herself steady and gripped the wheel for dear life. "Oh, no you don't!" she growled through gritted teeth. More thunder and lightning flashed and exploded around the Viking ship, threatening to tear it apart. It seemed to multiply since they first entered this hell-hole of a hurricane, what was only lighting up the darkness every few minutes was now every couple seconds.

"Brace yourselves!" Clarisse shouted over the roaring thunder. The teens did as ordered and hit the deck, Hiccup wrapping his arms around Astrid protectively. With one final sharp turn, the ship was thrown upward in a massive wave of ocean.

Clarisse, while holding onto the wheel tightly, unclipped her whip from her belt and slashed it at the roped holding down the sail. It coiled around the metal and Clarisse gave it all she had with one single pull. In a matter of seconds, the sail fell open and the ship launched forward. Clarisse grabbed the wheel to regain her balance. The force of the racing winds in the sail were enough to give the Solar Flare one final push into the light. And with a loud splash, the ship burst out of the wall of storms and into the calm blue ocean. Warm light flooded the teens' eyes as they carefully got to their feet, not believing what just happened. For what seemed like hours, Clarisse had a chance to catcher her breath, she never thought she'd be so happy to see daylight. In the warm sunlight she could see that an array of debris was scattered across the deck. Pieces of rope, wood splinters, patches of torn cloth, and a clump of black feathers were scattered here and there. Clarisse smirked to herself when she saw a nasty bruise forming on Tuffnut's chin where she'd punched him; she even saw a trickle of blood on his mouth. She must've broken his tooth or something.

"Okay, that happened" Astrid said, her blonde hair matted down and her bangs clinging to her face. Clarisse let out a laugh of relief, they did it. They actually did it! They made it through the storm. Now, all that remained was getting to Tia Marina.

Hiccup had to admit, that was the worst storm he'd ever been through! It made the snowstorm that hit Berk a few years ago look like a drizzle. He had never been more amazed with his sister, probably because he'd never really known her that well. Or at all. And when Tuffnut kissed her, the look on her face was priceless! Sure it might have been an accident, but Tuff certainly enjoyed it. Clarisse: not so much. She knocked him right in the mouth, leaving a pretty nasty looking bruise, yet despite their obvious loathing for one another, Hiccup couldn't help but notice their constant flirting. Did they like each other or not? Judging by Clarisse's reaction to her and Tuffnut's little upside-down lip-lock, Hiccup had to say 'Not.' The whole scene was actually pretty funny, and Tuffnut was into Hiccup's sister, no doubt about that. The thought disappeared when his green eyes locked on the blue sea and clear sky ahead of them.

"It should be smooth sailing form here" Clarisse said at the helm, the wheel now perfectly steadied in her hands. Hiccup then noticed another bruise on her left hand, it was a sickly purple color and looked like it hurt, but if it did, Clarisse didn't show it.

"Hey, Clarisse?" Hiccup asked his twin. She tore her gaze away from the open ocean to answer him,

"Hmm?" she replied calmly, oblivious to everything around her.

"You've got another bruise here" Hiccup pointed out the damaged skin on the back of her hand. This made Clarisse look away from the sea for a second to glance at her arm. She pulled back her glove and the black leather sleeve to reveal a large purplish smudge on her back-hand that spread to her wrist.

"Ouch!" Hiccup winced. "Doesn't that hurt?' he asked, trying to avoid looking at the bruise. Clarisse just shrugged and pulled her sleeve down again,

"Guess not." She said nonchalantly.

"Are you sure?" he pressed, "That doesn't look too good, and the other day I saw another bruise on your shoulder-"

"Hiccup." Clarisse cut him off, "I get that you're concerned and everything, but honestly! It's just a bruise, no big deal. It's not like I've lost a limb or anything." Hiccup winced slightly at his twin's comment. Sure he was used to his fake leg and all, but he still bristled every time someone brought it up like that. But he supposed he shouldn't complain. Back in Berk, his mentor and good friend Gobber had lost his leg _and_ his hand, and he got along just fine. But he supposed Clarisse was right. It was just a bruise, and they had been getting knocked around the past few days. Guess he was just worrying too much like Astrid said he sometimes did when he cares. Hiccup sighed defeated and went to sit near the bow of the Solar Flare. The ship was pretty new now that he thought about it. It must have been built about a few months ago, with the insignia of Berk painted onto the sail in bright crimson, and a night fury figurehead to top it off. Speaking of night furies, Hiccup let out a yelp as he was tackled to ground by a mass of black scales. Toothless and the other dragons had sensed that the storm had passed and come out to stretch their wings. The black dragon attacked the scrawny Viking with a series of dragon kisses,

"Toothless, buddy, knock it off! Gross!" Hiccup managed to push the fury off of him so he could get to his feet. He saw Clarisse hug Spectrum's neck affectionately, him chewing her brown hair playfully in return. She giggled slightly and shooed him away from her head. He creaked with what sounded like laughter before trotting off with his scaly head held high. Hiccup chuckled at the sight of his twin and her dragon, they really did hold a deep bond, and he could see it. He guessed he shouldn't be so surprised. Clarisse and Spectrum were bonded by blood. The blood of a dragon ran through Clarisse's veins, without it-without Spectrum, she would be dead. Hiccup pushed those heavy thoughts aside. He gave Toothless a pat on his disk-shaped head, the night fury purred in response. The boy and his dragon stared off into the open ocean, a smile spreading across Hiccup's lips as the riders sailed off into their next great adventure. Hopefully one where no one had to die.


	17. Chapter 16

**Part 2: The Prophecy**

**Chapter 16 Now for the fun part**

For the next few days, the sailing was pretty boring. There were not as many storms, and when there were, they usually didn't have thunder or lightning, just falling water. The Solar Flare was never attacked by pirates or rival ships, and no wild dragons gave them a second thought. Like Clarisse said, smooth sailing. Most days went by quickly, the most interesting thing being who won the current game of poker. It usually being Clarisse. But hey, years of cheating at everything can get you loads of experience. Usually, when Clarisse, Snotlout, and the twins were playing cards, Astrid would be sharpening her axe or some other weapon, and Fishlegs would have his nose shoved in a book, probably the Book of Dragons writing down a bunch of stuff about Wailing Banshees and draki. And Hiccup was always off flying around the ship with Toothless, trying to keep the dragons in shape. In all honesty, flying was the only thing that kept the teens sane on this floating rust-bucket. Well, for Clarisse it was flying and swimming, but that's beside the point.

One day, Clarisse was relaxing in the crow's nest, a cherry-flavored lollipop in her mouth and Tia Marina's book in her lap. She would spend hours trying to decipher the book with the sun and moon crest. Like she said before, it was all a bunch of symbols and other junk on paper. All Clarisse could recognize were small words such as 'witch' and 'moon.' Yet those weren't helpful at all. She sighed and batted the lollipop around in her mouth, looking forward at the endless stretch of sea. But then she noticed a huge blob of green and brown. She did a double-take and her green eyes locked on the landmass in front of the ship. She recognized the huge sea stacks that grew all sorts of trees and vegetation, the looming mountain range in the distance. They'd reached Asia.

"Hey!" Clarisse called from the crow's nest. The other teens looked up at her questioningly, the twins were in the middle of an arm wrestle, and Snotlout was just snapped out of a nap. "Land ho!" Clarisse pointed at the mass of land in front of them. The others followed her gaze, and jumped from their seats in a wave of excitement.

"Yes! Land, finally!" Astrid shouted into open air.

"No more uncomfortable hammocks." Tuffnut sighed happily.

"No more sea-sickness." Fishlegs added before he threw up over the side of the boat, his face was a little green. Clarisse hurriedly climbed down the mast and ran to the wheel, mildly shoving Hiccup out of the way. He landed on the deck with a grunt.

"Alright, we made it!" she exclaimed with a grin. Hiccup returned her smile as he puffed out his cheeks, finally, so many boring days of sailing would change. Clarisse steered the ship into a coastal cove while everyone else frantically prepared the ship to be left alone for a while.

"So, what's our plan?" Astrid asked as she and Stormfly stood next to Clarisse and Hiccup.

"Fly to those mountains, and go on foot from there to find this monastery where, hopefully, they'll know where Tia is." Clarisse explained. She saddled Spectrum and strapped down a few necessities. She usually rode Spectrum bare-back, since he wasn't a fan of saddles, but this was an exception because the flight would be long-distance.

"And what if we run into any, you know, trouble?" she pressed. Clarisse sighed in annoyance before pulling her sword on Astrid. The blade was literally and inch from her face,

"Then they'll have to deal with me and Sucker Punch." She replied with her famous smirk.

"Who?" Hiccup cut in, his eyebrow arched in confusion. Clarisse held her katana horizontally so her twin could see the incredibly detailed blade again.

"My sword, I call it the Sucker Punch." she slipped the katana back into its sheath, "Weigh anchor!" she called before mounting Spectrum. Ruff and Tuff threw the anchor over the side of the ship, securing the ropes that kept it in place before mounting Barf and Belch.

"And now, for the fun part." Clarisse smirked as she and the wailing banshee took off in the air, Hiccup and the others followed suit, letting the Solar Flare fade into the mist of the clouds.

It didn't take long for the looming mountains of the Himalayas to come into view. The towering mountains magnificent in the fire-vision, but in real life they were so regal and icy that it looked like Asgard itself! Hiccup couldn't help but stare open-mouthed at the sky-ward rock.

"Hiccup, meet Mt. Everest, she's a lovely piece of frozen rock, currently housing monks and such" Clarisse explained carelessly. Hiccup didn't have the words to speak; his voice seemed to evaporate as he stared wide-eyed at the enormous landscape. He simply nodded, his mouth continuing to hang open until Clarisse closed it for him.

"So we have to walk the whole way?" Astrid asked with her arms crossed and her hip cocked to the side. Clarisse nodded,

"I prefer the term, 'trek.'" She said calmly. She slid out of Spectrum's saddle and fished out a silver wolf-skin cloak with a hood made from its head that was still attached to the body. Hiccup shuttered a bit, the silver fur reminded him a bit too well of the wolves that had attacked him on that night he first met Clarisse. He remembered his twin shooting it in the head with an arrow. Clarisse slipped the cloak over her shoulders and pulled the head-hood over her head, which only revealed her green eyes and mouth.

"Now the trek doesn't take too long, just remember to keep up with the others, and don't freeze to death." She said with a sneaky grin. She, along with everyone else, began to trudge up the mountain through the fresh white powder. After about an hour of continuous walking through the freezing cold, Astrid caught up to the pirate girl and decided to spark up a chat.

"So, what's it like being a pirate?" she asked out of the blue. Clarisse threw her a glance, a little taken aback by the question, but she just shrugged and answered just the same.

"Well," she began. "Anyone who becomes a pirate always has a desire for freedom, and to pirates like me, freedom is power. To live life untamed and unafraid, to have freedom that's so treasured and as rare as gold itself, there's nothing else like it in the world." She explained with a warm smile and sad eyes. Astrid could hear the obvious longing in the girl's voice. Clarisse had had complete and utter freedom before, and she wanted it again; that much Astrid could tell.

"That sounds, pretty cool." She said finally. Clarisse gave the blonde Viking a genuine smile that was unmistakably Hiccup's signature grin. At this Astrid couldn't help but smile. They walked in silence a few hours more, until Astrid felt soft grass beneath her boots. Her storm-blue eyes darted to the ground, confirming that fresh green grass was covering the ground.

"It's, grass." Hiccup said, bending down to see if he was hallucinating.

"That makes no sense, it must be ten-below up here, how can anything grow?" Astrid demanded. Clarisse darted her head around a few times as if looking for something, then her jade green gaze locked on something distant.

"It's because of them." She pointed her index finger to what looked like a building about a mile ahead. It didn't take long for Astrid to realize that it was the monastery from the fire-vision. Same gold painted roof, same intricately carved wooden columns, and the same Chinese style.

"We made it!" Hiccup exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air triumphantly. Clarisse flashed her twin a smile before pulling off her wolf-skin cloak. She tucked the fur garment back into Spectrum's saddle bag and turned to the others.

"Alright, Spiked, Blondie and I will go see the monks and find out if they know where Tia is, and if not then feel free to use that axe Astrid." She explained. Astrid gripped the handle of her axe with a wolfish smile.

"With pleasure." She replied.

"Well then what the heck are we supposed to do?" Tuffnut whined.

"Yah, do the rest of us just sit here like ducks while you three deal with all the action?" Snotlout said, crossing his arms and staring Clarisse down with his misty green eyes. She stared back with equal intensity.

"Yes, have fun!" Clarisse batted her eyes innocently, even though her green dragon eyes were sharper than a nadder's spines. With her fiery green eyes locked on his foggy blue ones, Snotlout didn't see a way he could win this fight.

"Fine, you guys go, we'll watch the dragons, like real Vikings" Tuffnut sneered playfully. Clarisse flashed him a smirk that was just as playful and sarcastic, which confused Astrid. Was she… flirting with him? Astrid would have thought Clarisse hated him, as much as he hated her. Even in their first meeting they had both said, 'I loathe you.' And then there was the nasty bruise Clarisse left on Tuffnut's jaw after their little lip-lock on the Solar Flare, which was hilarious by the way. Astrid couldn't help snickering at the thought. Clarisse began to hike up the grassy hill to the monastery, Hiccup, Astrid and their dragons following close behind.

The hike wasn't very treacherous, just a few minutes to the Chinese temple. A magnificent garden surrounded the monastery, with blooming flowers and colorful leaved trees.

"Wow," Hiccup said in awe. "This place is beautiful." He observed. Clarisse didn't look as impressed.

"What is this, an albino Chinatown?" she asked with a slight sneer. She was referring to the patches of pure white snow covering sections of the Chinese garden. A family of polar bears was even dozing in the warm sun under the cherry blossom trees. In sections of the garden, men were seen with loose-fitting white robes and bald heads, all sitting serenely in a meditation pose.

"You know they're such peaceful people." Clarisse said softly. The three teens approached the building where another meditation group was sitting, a man with a bamboo bow-staff standing and looking over the class.

"Knock, knock! Hello!" Astrid spoke up. The monks turned their bald heads to look at the two Viking and one pirate teenagers in confusion, the man with the staff approaching them calmly.

"Hi! We're looking for a witch!" Clarisse explained. "She's got red hair, and a really thick Russian accent, I don't know if you guys know her." The man now stood in a tranquil position in front of the teens, holding his bow-staff rather close. Hiccup decided to greet him first.

"Hello." He said kindly. "Are you the one in charge?" he asked. Before he got a worded answer, Hiccup felt an intense sting in his collar bone. The boy held his neck painfully as he dropped to his knees. It took him a second to realize the monk had hit Hiccup with his staff with a stinging _Thwack!_

"Hey!" Astrid snapped. The monk hit her in the chest with another _Thwack!_

"Excuse me-" said Clarisse. _Thwack!_

"Stop it!" Astrid snapped again. _Thwack!_

"Calm down!" Hiccup yelped. _Thwack!_

"Wait!" Astrid said, with realization in her voice as the monk hit her with his staff again, this time on her back. _Thwack!_ "It's because we're-" _Thwack! _"-We're talking!" _Thwack! _"I'll stop talking!" _Thwack!_ "Aw crap!" _Thwack!_ Astrid yelped as she involuntarily dropped to her knees. "Oh, it's me!" she said, realizing she hadn't stopped talking. _Thwack! _"Stop hitting me!" she snarled, getting another_ Thwack!_ In reply.

"Oh I get it!" Hiccup said before the monk hit him in the chest with the bamboo stick, knocking him off his feet and landing in the grass with a grunt. Clarisse came to his rescue by holding her hands in front of the monk, she pressed her index finger to her lips and mouthed 'we get it! No talking!' the monk nodded once before walking off to the main building. Astrid quickly got to her feet and threw her arms up in anger. Clarisse only shrugged before the girls helped Hiccup off of the ground, he groaned painfully but didn't talk, as they were… _strictly_ told.

The teens followed the monk into the main building, the place smelling strongly of ginger and cherry blossoms. Another man was meditating inside. He wore the same white robes, but had a thin grey ponytail slithering down his back, and a long mustache that brushed his kneecaps.

"Master Sato will see you now" the conscious monk explained before he exited the building. Clarisse managed to stick out her tongue at him when he wasn't looking,

"So much for peaceful people." Astrid joked. Clarisse puffed out her cheeks with a laugh,

"Yah, bunch of bald jerks!" she replied. The meditating monk opened his eyes; they were yellow and had sort of a feline edge to them. He spoke in a low yet soothing tone of voice,

"We monks take our oaths of silence very seriously young lady" he explained. Clarisse bowed to the man respectfully,

"My apologies master Sato," she said gently. The monk, Sato, as he was now known, smiled and nodded to the pirate girl.

"Clarisse Esperanza Merrill, a pleasure finally meeting you" he said as he rose to his feet. "As the spirits have told me, you search for Tia Marina" he said it as more of a statement than a question. Clarisse didn't know how Sato knew her name, they'd never met. But, monks have a very powerful link with ancient spirits of all cultures; Sato must have met one who knows her. Maybe… no, that's almost impossible. Sato wouldn't speak to her parents.

"Yes sir, do you know where she is?" Astrid piped up. Sato chuckled heartedly,

"Right this way" he exited the main room and began walking down a series of halls and passages in the temple. The teens exchanged looks and followed him. He led them to a secluded part of the monastery; no other monks were seen in any of the training rooms, so it must be restricted to students. The hallway was lit with lanterns covered in Chinese designs and patterns, and the walls were covered head to toe in colorful murals and paintings that depicted all sorts of heroes and gods of all cultures. The odd thing was, they were all gods of the same thing. Apollo and Artemis, Ra and Khonsu, Helios and Selene, and finally: Solaris and Luna.

"Why are all these paintings here?" Astrid asked Sato. He was silent the entire walk, but he answered,

"The prophecy that your beloved and his sister are a part of has been existent since the dawn of time. It always includes the sun, the moon, and the sky that binds them." Sato explained. He stopped in front of a door depicting a dragon intertwining with a feather boa and forming Celtic knots and patterns.

"This is where I leave you" Sato explained as he hastily left the teens at the door.

"Wait, so you're just gonna-" Astrid stopped mid-sentence, because when she and the others looked back, Sato was gone and they were alone outside of a creepy door.

"Ladies first?" Hiccup said nervously. Clarisse and Astrid both gave him a look that said 'seriously?' Clarisse shrugged and opened the door.


	18. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17 The Truth behind the Myth**

The room was all in all creepy. Without the insides the small residence could be seen as humble or even quaint. However, there was the mystic voodoo priestess who lived inside. All sorts of jars, vials, and bottles were lined up on the walls, covering every inch of shelf the room had. Different varieties of live and dead animals were littered about the furniture and floors, and there was a giant yellow boa constrictor on the bed.

"Hello?" Hiccup called. No answer. Astrid and Clarisse were poking about the items in the room, Astrid looking interested and Clarisse just looking impatient. Astrid picked up what looked like a marionette puppet made of a monkey skeleton. She held it up for Hiccup to see with a confused expression. Hiccup just shrugged and went back to snooping. Wait, I'm sorry. "observing." Clarisse's attention was suddenly caught by a shelf filled with bottles. They all looked about the same; spherical base with a long slender neck, and each one containing some color smoke. The inner residence of the bottles al shifted and moved within them as if with some sort of light. Clarisse picked one up that contained red smoke. She held it close to her face to get a better view of what lay within. The red mist all of a suddenly shifted to form the head of a monstrous nightmare! It roared once and then faded back into the red inky smoke of the bottle. Clarisse set it back on the shelf and continued to examine the dragon bottles.

All of a sudden, a woman entered from another room. She wore all black; a long Victorian dress with lots of lace and tool, with a coin wrap that jingled when she walked, and long, flowing transparent sleeves. She wore black jewelry and a black choker with beads and a skull charm. Despite her wardrobe, the woman was actually not what Hiccup expected a witch to look like. She had pale ivory skin, deep blood-red curls that were piled high on her head, and warm brown eyes. She also had a beauty mark next to her sculpted nose. There was also a monkey on her shoulder. She stopped in her tracks when she saw she had visitors. For a split second, she looked murderous, as if she'd kill anyone who'd intruded on her humble yet strange home. But her brown eyes softened when she saw Clarisse.

"Clarisse my darling," The woman exclaimed with a heavy Russian accent. "What a pleasure to see you after so long." the monkey looked absolutely content on the witch' shoulders, his eyes darting between Hiccup and Astrid.

"It's great to see you Tia." Clarisse smiled brightly before wrapping her arms around the mystic woman in a warm hug. The small simian creature shrieked as if to say 'stupid girl! What about me!' Clarisse only chuckled at him, "You too, Bathsheba you little rat." She grinned, pulling away from her aunt. For the first time, Tia seemed to notice more people in the room. Her brown eyes locked on Hiccup for a moment, her gaze showing obvious fear. But as soon as he saw it, the look was gone again and the woman's warm smile had returned.

"Oh my!" she said, clearly excited to have more visitors. "Look at you both! Clarisse, who are your lovely new friends?" Tia asked. Clarisse smiled in return before gesturing to Hiccup and Astrid.

"Tia, this is Hiccup and Astrid" she explained, Tia seemed to be observing them like a fish under a head-lamp. Her warm coffee-colored gaze stopped dead on Hiccup's sun amulet, and Astrid's lightning bolt pendant, they both seemed to shimmer with power in the low light of the mystic room. The woman decided to put it off until later, when it would be the right time to tell them. "As you can see, well, we're twins." Clarisse said with a slight chuckle of exasperation. Tia Marina only smiled at Hiccup,

"Yes, I can also see that you have friends waiting for you three outside, shall we go?" Tia asked, gesturing towards the door. Hiccup and Astrid exchanged a look, mentally asking one another how she knew they had friends waiting for them. Clarisse noticed this and whispered to them,

"Tia is, different" she said simply, as if it was obvious. She followed Tia out of the room and into the halls of the monastery. Hiccup shrugged and followed his twin and the voodoo priestess out into the hall, Astrid reached for the door only to get hissed at by the boa constrictor.

"Oh, and uh, watch out for Phillip" Clarisse advised from the hallway. Astrid growled and closed the door, it slamming with her annoyance.

"Clarisse my dear!" Tia exclaimed happily when she saw the twins, Fish and Snot waiting for them in the snow near the monastery. "Why didn't you tell me you had friends with such spirit and fight!? You poor things! Come out of the freezing snow, Zephryna makes it much warmer in the temple." Tia said as she herded the other teens into the garden courtyard on the temple grounds.

"'Bout time!" Snotlout complained, he was rubbing his arms from the cold.

"Yah, I just about froze off my-"

"Cool a monkey!" Ruffnut exclaimed, cutting Tuffnut off to look at the small simian on Tia's shoulders. Hiccup now knew its name to be Bathsheba. Tia smiled, amused by the twins easily distracted personalities.

"Guys, this is my aunt," Clarisse explained. Tia's hands were folded in front of her elegantly, you almost couldn't tell if she was a witch or not.

But there it was again; that look of mortified fear in her eyes and on her face, but it only lasted for a split second before she returned to her regular beautifully strange self. "She's also an esteemed witch/mystic/voodoo priestess/seer/ who knows what else!" she said with a laugh. At that moment, a deep rumble sounded from deep within the monastery. The teens stumbled and began to get a bit frazzled, but Tia and the monks looked like they experienced this kind of thing all the time.

"What was that?!" Fishlegs demanded, sounding more afraid than annoyed.

"Worry not dear boy, Zephryna is very tame, she wouldn't hurt anyone" Tia explained calmly as if she was trying to sooth a scared dragon. Astrid noticed her say that name again- Zephryna. She felt like she should know it, but she couldn't place where she'd ever heard that name in her life.

"You mentioned that name before," Astrid stated. "Who's Zephryna?" she asked. Tia Marina grinned with a mixture of mischief and excitement, much like Ruffnut and Tuffnut when they were about to pull a trick. The red-headed witch put her fingers to her lips and a shrill whistle echoed into the Himalayan Mountains. For a moment, nothing happened. Astrid thought that Tia had just made up the name Zephryna and was just messing with them, but then, something big showed up.

Hiccup heard a thundering roar cry out from the mountains, he put his hands over his ears because it was so loud. An enormous column of bright red fire erupted from deep within the monastery. Hiccup supposed they had a basement or something with an open ceiling, that way whatever was making the fire wouldn't burn the place down. When Hiccup heard the roar, and saw the flames, a chill went up his spine. The memory still fresh in his mind even though it all happened three years ago. He knew that roar, he knew those flames. They belonged to the Red Death. The roar rang out again as another column of red fire, followed by the Red Death itself, lunged out from the monastery temple. Its large leathery wings were bigger than Toothless, Spectrum, Stormfly, and the other dragons combined! It had earthen brown scales, hooks on its wings so when it landed the wings would act as front legs for it to walk, and a long, spiny tail like a deadly nadder has. The death's head was tough and strong, with sharp scales jutting out near the back of its head and its nose curving upward in a sort-of horn. Hiccup didn't know what it was, but this dragon seemed… oddly familiar. The enormous beast roared a third and final time before it landed- no, that's not the right word to describe it, oh yes I know!- it skirted across the frozen landscape and came to a halt right in front of Hiccup. Unfortunately, even Clarisse seemed utterly in shock from the mighty dragon the size of the Red Death itself. So Hiccup was on his own for this one. The dragon looked him dead in the eyes; its mouth large enough to swallow Hiccup like he was an annoying pill. It growled once causing the ground beneath Hiccup's feet shutter a bit. Hiccup thought he was a goner, but then the dragon swept its enormous tongue out and licked the boy in front of it, and covering him head to toe in dragon slobber. Hiccup was more grossed out than shocked,

"Ew, gross!" he whined while trying to shake off some of the disgusting slime. The dragon in front of him pushed its massive head against his body, letting out a soft rumbling sound that could have been purring or indigestion, Hiccup couldn't tell. He gave the beast a nervous pat on the horn, for the first time noticing its eyes. Though they were sharp and vigilant, they were also soft and gentle. And the most beautiful shade of rose-red.

"Wait," he started. "Rosy?" his voice was laced with a mixture of surprise, excitement, and joy. He thought the baby death was just a figure of his imagination; a mixed pigment so he could face his greatest fear. He could never say it aloud, but his greatest fear was that he had to face the Red Death again, and in a way, he sort of had. Instead he wasn't facing it, he was rescuing it. And here that death was in front of him, licking his face and purring.

"Rosy? Like from that mind-world thing?" Astrid asked, slowly approaching Hiccup and Rosy. The giant dragon flashed the blond a growl before looking her over and purring as well. Tia Marina and Clarisse also came up to the giant death, Tia scratched Rosy under her massive chin and she purred affectionately.

"Tia, you… how long have you had, Rosy?" Clarisse asked some-what dumbfounded. Then again, how often do people see a Red Death in their lifetime? Tia chuckled softly,

"Clarisse my little Babydoll," Tia explained. "'Rosy,' or as her true name is Zephryna, has been in my care for centuries, she is the most ancient breed of dragon known to the world: an Anemi." When Tia said this, Fishlegs just had to start talking.

"But the book of dragons says that Anemi dragons have been extinct for like, a bazillion years!" he exclaimed, clearly terrified in the presence of the colossal dragon.

"Wait, wait, hold on just a second!" Clarisse interrupted. "Tia, you said 'centuries.' How old are you?" the mystic simply smiled serenely, as if Clarisse already knew the answer. But she was pretty sure she didn't. The question at hand was still in her mind; how on earth did Tia have an Anemi dragon? And how long has she been alive?

"Clarisse, dear child, I will explain everything, just not now" Tia explained. "Come inside, Zephryna shall keep the temple warm for the night." She turned and walked calmly back into the main building, the other riders following her, wanting to get out of the snow. The Anemi dragon, now known as Zephryna, took off with a thrusting motion into the cold air. The other dragons just stared in awe in the direction she flew in. even Spectrum was transfixed on the sheer size of the beast. They dragons all exchanged confused glances before Toothless simply shrugged and took off after Zephryna, the other dragons followed suit. Hiccup smiled, it was nice to know the dragons were being semi-friendly towards Rosy, err, Zephryna.

Tia had been nice enough to make tea for the teens to warm up, they were in her room that was surprisingly bigger inside rather than how it looked from the outside. Clarisse couldn't pull her eyes away from the dragon bottles she'd been examining earlier; all containing various dragons. She even spotted a few wailing banshees contained in the glass bottles.

"Tia?" Clarisse finally caught the woman's attention. She looked up from pouring another round of orange and jasmine tea for Fishlegs.

"Hmm?" she replied thoughtlessly.

"What are those bottles on the shelves over there?" Clarisse came right out with it. She wanted to know why her aunt was imprisoning dragons in bottles like some sort of scaled genies. Tia tensed up for a moment, but then replied softly and kindly.

"Child, if you're thinking that I am imprisoning these majestic creatures against their will, I assure you that is not the case." She explained. Astrid's stormy gaze found the dragon bottles as well and asked,

"Then, what are they? I mean, why do you have them here?" she demanded with an edgy tone of voice. Tia chuckled heartedly, setting the tea kettle on a nearby table and gesturing the teens to follow her.

"Come," she said simply. Clarisse, Hiccup, and Astrid all exchanged confused glances. The others looked to the pirate girl for a possible answer, but she just shrugged as if all of this was new to her as well. It probably was. The teens followed Tia with their eyes as she approached a wall that was, unlike the others, bare. All that covered the smooth ivory surface was a single torch, its fire unnaturally blue as it danced and writhed with heat.

"Tia?" Clarisse questioned cautiously. The mystic only gave a sly yet soothing smile to her niece, thinking about how exciting it would be to teach them everything she knew about the prophecy. Not yet. But soon. The red-headed mystic ignored the girl's nervous question and pulled the torch down in a strong yet swift motion. It suddenly jerked downward as invisible mechanisms turned and creaked within the walls. The teens had to back up a bit, their eyes darting around the room from the startling sound of wiring and turning gears. The sounds came to a stop when the bare wall split in two! The now split wall disappeared behind the shelves of the other walls, revealing a secret passage on the other side.

"Now now, don't doddle." Tia said as she fearlessly strolled right into the passageway. Clarisse stood absolutely still for a moment before she shrugged and followed Tia Marina into the secret room within the sort-of secret room. For a moment, Hiccup was actually trying to determine what the heck went on in his sister's head! It blew his mind how much they were alike and different. To be honest, he wasn't expecting for her to be so, so… well, like a pirate. She carried and practiced guns on a regular basis- Hiccup can still barley wield his own sword. Clarisse was fearless, cunning, and unpredictable- Hiccup couldn't even sneak up on his own girlfriend! (Not that he did that. Anymore.) He was snatched up from his thoughts by what was on the other side of the wall/door. It completely took his breath away.

Some might say that Astrid didn't believe in the supernatural. To tell the truth she'd seen a few things, thanks to Clarisse. But nothing could compare to the room she stood in now. The room looked like a giant vertical cylinder, with curving circular walls that curled around a single platform in the center fed by a connected walkway. With a gaping open ceiling above it, and what seemed like a bottomless pit of fire and lava below it. Ancient carvings and details covered the platform from head to toe; it was split into three sections. One end was completely cloaked in carvings of Celtic knots and ancient patterns, all leading up to a large crescent moon in the center. The second end of the three was just as magnificent, the same as the moon one, but instead the carvings bore a sun; its energy waved seemed to move with life like a mirage. The last one had the same Celtic knot patterns as the other two, except for the carved lightning bolt in the center. When Astrid looked at it, her hand instantly went to her gold pendant. When she touched it, she felt a small zap of electricity touch her fingertips. She was so fixated on the carvings that she hardly noticed. She was so hypnotized by the beauty and detail of the floor that she nearly missed what covered the walls. She had to reluctantly pull her stormy gaze away to look upon the sheer awe of what the rest of the room contained. Almost every nook and cranny of the walls was lined in shelves and hollowed containment places, filled up to their necks with bottles. The same weird smoke-bottles that Tia had in her room. Large holes and claw-carved gashes in the walls were the only thing other than the genie-lamps that even dotted the cylindrical structure.

Waiting for them in the center of the stone platform was the colossal dragon, now known as Zephryna, along with the other dragons. They were all either waiting patiently or trying to make their own fun- most of which completed by Barf, Belch, and Spectrum. Astrid walked over to Stormfly and gave her a quick rub on the snout before catching Zephryna's eye. The rose-eyed dragon simply gave her a caring glance. Astrid met her gaze, those red irises bigger than her head! She had no idea why, but Zephryna seemed so… familiar. It was like the memory was there, but when she looked for it, it was gone in an instant. Like when you look at something in your peripheral vision, and when you turn to see all of it, it's just gone.

"Whoa" she heard Hiccup say behind her. She turned her storm blue gaze back to him; he and Clarisse were wearing the same dumb-founded expression. It was like Astrid was seeing double! She gave a slight chuckle in their direction, Clarisse may be a lying, stealing, cheating pirate, but she was Hiccup's sister. No matter how deep down and buried that part of her was.

"Yah, whoa." Clarisse replied, her mind obviously elsewhere.

"Clarisse?" Astrid asked breaking free of her amazement to talk to Hiccup's twin.

"Hmm?" was all she could manage. Astrid noticed she picked up one of the bottles off one of the shelves to examine it. It contained a blue smoke with flecks of purple glimmering every few seconds.

"Have you ever even been in this room before?" Astrid asked her, her eyes still sweeping over as much of the room as she could. Clarisse just shrugged and puffed out her cheeks,

"I've never been here in my life, I swear to god." The sound of someone clearing their throat snapped the teens out of their thinking, or in Ruff and Tuff's case- stealing. Tia seemed to catch them red-handed as they tried to sneakily shove some of the smoke-bottles in their pockets. The ones they were trying to swipe were about the size of Astrid's palm, so it would be easy for them to take it. Apparently not. One of the bottles began to glow with a pulsing rhythm and shake violently in Ruffnut's hands.

"Don't touch those." Tia said with a slight growl. "they are dragon healing bottles; you use magic to trap an injured dragon inside, and when they're fully healed, the bottle with glow and vibrate." Tia took a bottle containing bright green smoke from the twins and clutched it in her hand. "Observe." She smiled before smashing the bottle against the ground. Everyone had to shield their faces from the flying broken shards of glass and thick green smoke that dissipated in the underground air. The teens coughed wildly while waving their hands through the green cloud that engulfed them to try and wave it away. But the strangest thing started to happen. The green fog began to gather in the center of the underground lair, twisting and thrashing in a single cloud of green. This went on for a few seconds before Astrid could make out what looked like a wing forming in the green smoke. She was right! A small bright green dragon wing emerged from the smoky clump on the ground, then another, then two small legs. All of the small dragon's parts had been formed from the smoke until an average sized terrible terror stood before the teens and mystic. It blinked its eyes thoughtlessly before it coughed up a small fireball and flew out of the open ceiling as fast as its little wings could carry it.

"Cool" the twins gaped up at the open ceiling in dumb-founded awe.

"Now then," Tia began, changing the subject; she was leaning on what looked like a metal and wooden cane. "You probably have many questions for me to answer, and I assure you I will answer them. Clarisse?" Tia Marina looked to Clarisse with expecting eyes.

"Right. Okay, Tia, for the past few weeks, Hiccup and I have been having the weirdest dreams-" Clarisse explained everything: the prophecy, the nightmares, the conversations with ancient rulers, and the fact that they were hearing the voice of two thousand-year-old people who ruled day and night like gods inside their heads! And Astrid thought _her_ life was complicated. The mystic simply tapped her chin thoughtfully, her chocolate brown eyes not showing much about whatever she was thinking of. After a long pause Tia looked at Hiccup and Clarisse with a grim expression.

"I wish I could tell you different," she began with a sad sigh, "but this prophecy is real, and I can help you to be prepared for the trials ahead." Tia Marina's usual warm and bubbly personality was replaced by complete seriousness, like this was a life-or-death situation. Because it was.

"Trials?" Clarisse piped up after what felt like forever. Tia approached Hiccup and her niece and placed a hand on each of their shoulders.

"Though they have not been known for many years, you both hold great power." She began to explain, "Every thousand years two children were chosen to fulfill this ancient story again and again. But don't be deceived, apart they were always strong, brave, selfless, and powerful. But together they held a power beyond all imagination." Tia said, her tone lightening up a tad.

"What kind of powers?" Clarisse asked, her voice sounding more sneaky and mischievous than concerned. Tia only chuckled,

"I should probably mention a few more things dear Babydoll," she added. Her voice showed the slightest bit of edge, like she was taming a wild monstrous nightmare with nothing but a ball of twine and a stick. "Firstly, I am not your father's sister. And I never was."

"What?" Clarisse stared at the mystic with an expression fused from shock, confusion, and the slightest bit of annoyance. Astrid could relate, all of this was a lot to wrap your head around. It could make the most collected person go completely crazy.

"As I have said before, I have been around for centuries: being an all-powerful witch and mystic has its perks. Your father found me shortly after he found you, and he asked me to teach you all that I can about being a draki. But I was also preparing you as much as possible for this as well." She leaned on her metal cane nonchalantly, like she was explaining to a five-year-old how to tie their shoes. Astrid saw it an opportunity to step in when Clarisse and Hiccup just stared at her with their mouths hanging open. It was pretty insane; a thousand year-old witch who tells you you're basically the saviors of the world. Yah, she wouldn't believe it either.

"You said something about powers. I've known Hiccup all my life, he doesn't have any powers." She said while arching an eyebrow and jutting out her hip. Hiccup looked like he was about to object, but Clarisse stopped him by elbowing him in the ribs. Astrid made a mental note to thank her for that later.

"Blondie," Tia began after a concerned sigh. Astrid growled under her breath; why does Clarisse, and now Tia Marina, call her that?! I mean sure her hair was blonde and everything, but still! For her entire life Astrid worked twice as hard at everything she did compared to other girls. People in the village back home always thought she'd end up like the chaotic and idiotic Thorston twins just because they shared the hair color. It was infuriating! But she held her tongue in front of the red-headed witch, not wanting to blow her chances at getting the answers she wanted. Tia continued as if nothing happened, "I cannot describe this in any means you can fully understand. But to some things up: there are three people involved in the prophecy, they are the sun, the moon, and the sky that binds them," she explained.

"So if Hiccup is the sun and I'm the moon, then who's the sky?" Clarisse asked, curiosity reflecting in her forest green eyes. Tia got the most sly and wiry grin on her scarlet red lips. Her chocolate eyes found Astrid's lightning bolt pendant, it was like she was having a stare-down with the gold necklace. Astrid looked down at the necklace; the gold lightning bolt seemed to catch the light perfectly, shimmering in the dim underground torch-light like it was being illuminated by some kind of magic. Hiccup and Clarisse had explained that King Solaris' wife had made that crazy storm that surrounded Berk, she couldn't remember the name, but for some reason the subject caught her attention. They also said that she was looking for a host, and that they heard the voices of Solaris and Luna in their heads. Maybe this sky-queen spoke in people's heads too.

_Uhhh, hello! Anybody home? _ Astrid thought, she mentally face-palmed herself. Of course she couldn't hear voices in her head! That was just plain dumb. _Oh, just forget I asked!_ She thought back with a mental grunt in frustration.

_Can you hear me?_ Astrid thought. Wait! She didn't think that. Someone else was talking! The voice was obviously female, it sounded sort of confused and angry at the same time, like saying the wrong word would make this person go into a rage fit.

_Um, yes?_ Astrid thought again. She said it as more of a question, because by now she was questioning her sanity. When no one answered Astrid couldn't help but do a slight mental sigh of relief. Maybe she wasn't losing her mind. Maybe she wasn't some ancient ruler's host or whatever.

_No need to jump to conclusions. I'm still here._ The snippy voice answered again. Astrid's eyes grew wider than ever, someone was talking in her head! Tia Marina noticed her shocked and confused expression and added,

"I see you too have a new friend." She said with a slight chuckle. Everyone else turned their eyes to face the blonde Viking girl, her own eyes showing more confusion than shock now.

"Okay, wait a minute. What?" Clarisse said with the slightest twinge of curious annoyance. Tia laughed to herself again, as if Astrid hearing voices in her head was the funniest thing in the world. She turned to Clarisse and Hiccup with her usual soft eyes.

"Your friend here is a part of the story as well; she is the chosen host of the story-hearted Queen Tempest. Also known as the sky queen." Tia continued.

"How did you know that?" Hiccup asked her.

"It's an insight, I can sense when the king and queens speak to you." She added with her unforgettable accent.

"So, you can tell whenever Solaris, Luna, and now Tempest talk to us?" Clarisse added. Astrid had to admit it was some-what strange to see the draki girl with such little knowledge of all this, even though she'd been the one who recommended seeing Tia Marina in the first place. But then again she'd met her long-lost twin brother less than a month ago, and they were still finding out new stuff about her every day! Like how she can control fire, and can get dragon eyes whenever she wants, well maybe that last part comes more from instinct. She is a Dragon's blood after all.

"How is any of this even possible?" Astrid interrupted, getting a little irritated with all of this prophecy nonsense. Tia sighed sadly as if she felt true empathy for the three teens who heard voices in their heads.

"I wish things were different, but I cannot change you or your destiny, I can only prepare you." She said grimly.

"Prepare us for what exactly?" Clarisse asked, getting an annoyed tone of voice as well. There it was again, Astrid thought. That look of pure fear in Tia Marina's eyes, what was she thinking? The mystic took a deep breath before replying.

"I have been seeing a dark energy with you and your friends." She explained with a sad yet grim expression. This confused Astrid as much as everyone else. Dark energy? Hiccup and Clarisse said they were chosen to defeat some great evil, could this be what Tia was talking about.

"Dark energy?" Astrid replied, her mouth acting before her mind could say any different. Tia simply nodded.

"I saw it first when I met you all in my quarters; it was latched to your back." Astrid shivered a bit at this; latched to her back. Like an evil leach. Well, leaches were some-what evil anyway, little buggers. But the red-headed woman's tone was anything but her normal warm and bubbly self. "And I saw it again, when I met your friends, when we walked into the garden." Tia added. Well that explained her terrified looks in her room and in the temple garden.

"So you're saying that this… thing, is attached to us somehow?" Hiccup asked, a mixture of fear, anxiety, and concern reflecting off of his forest green eyes. Tia nodded again, this time her head hanging lower in a sad motion.

"But, you can help us right Tia?" Clarisse chimed in, Astrid saw the clear hope in the draki's green Haddock eyes. She not only wanted answers, at this point she _needed_ them. The mystic woman's eyes seemed to regain some of their maternal care, she smiled weakly when she added,

"I can, but it will take lots of training for you three to fully master your powers in time for-"

"In time for what?" Astrid interrupted, she thought they had all the time in the world for this prophecy thing. But like always, there was always a due-date. A time-limit until the end of the world. And once again, they had to stop it.

"This darkness is growing stronger every day, you may not know it, but it is feeding off of you." Tia said with a slight growl in her tone. Astrid immediately thought back to Clarisse's bruises, they were always too fresh and recent to be from her draki training, and they were so sickly blue, black, and purple that they even made Snotlout a little nauseous.

"So we kick its sorry butt! No big deal" Snotlout spoke up. The three teens looked back at him, remembering that the others were still here.

"Yah, you guys may be the big shots in this, but don't you think we don't want in." Ruffnut accused with a pointed finger at them.

"We've got you guys' backs." Fishlegs said as bravely as he could.

"Let's kick some dark energy butt!" Tuffnut said with a devilish grin while cracking his knuckles threateningly. Tia chuckled at their enthusiasm.

"I will train you all personally, you will not face this threat alone, it was not built that way." Behind her, Zephryna growled in excitement, her rosy eyes gleaming with pride and fearlessness, the other dragons growling, chirping, and creaking with agreement as well.

"More painful training," Hiccup said, "Great." Clarisse and Hiccup began to walk over to the dragons, Clarisse petting spectrum on his slimy nose and Hiccup getting tackled again by Toothless. Astrid smiled with a laugh until Tia put a firm hand on her shoulder, her expression worried.

"Don't worry Tia," Astrid reassured her, "We can do this." The mystic sighed sadly again.

"They will need you." She simply said, her chocolate brown gaze turned to the Haddock and Merrill twins. "And we all need them."


	19. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18 To know your enemy…**

Clarisse was wearing her usual night clothes: baggy linen pants, blue sleeveless top and comfortable fur boots with the pants tucked in to keep warm. Tia had arranged for the seven teens and dragons to stay at the monastery while she trained them. Apparently they not only were reincarnated rulers, they had magical powers too! It wasn't all that cool to Clarisse, seeing as she kind of already had magical powers and all, but still! She fingered the crescent moon around her neck thoughtfully; she was thinking about how much her life had changed in the past few weeks. She'd found her birth family, discovered she was an ancient moon queen re-born, and now she had to defeat some great and powerful evil with a sassy Viking girl who she didn't even like, and a scrawny dragon boy who she barely even knew! And to top everything off, she'd completely forgotten to ask Tia Marina about the book! It sat on her temporary desk, seemingly staring her down with invisible eyes. Clarisse shivered a bit from an imaginary draft and shoved the tattered book into a drawer. She looked around the simple room; a bed, a desk, a wardrobe, and a standing mirror in the corner. Simple, yet elegant. Clarisse stole a glance at her day clothes; the armor glinted in the light of her single lit candle, the dragon-skin shirt she'd made still tough as stones. Don't ask her how she got it, let's just say it was a bad idea of that monstrous nightmare to attack her ship. Don't get me wrong, she felt bad about wearing the green nightmare as an accessory. When she was sixteen the Nightmare Moon had crashed into a sea-stack, destroying the nightmare's nest and the eggs it contained. The dragon went berserk and began attacking everything and everyone, Clarisse had tried her best to calm it down and tame it but that only got her multiple burns on her arms and face. When the nightmare was completely beyond reason, Clarisse had no choice but to kill it. She'd felt ashamed of herself for killing a creature that had been suffering so much, but her father had comforted her by saying, "I know that the creature would rather be dead than to live with so much grief." She knew he'd been right, but he'd also said that to wear the dragon's skin would be a better way to honor it. She sighed sadly at the thought of her father, touching the iron crescent moon once more before lying on her bed and pulling out her old copy of "the World's Best Blackjack Book."

_Knock! Knock! Knock!_

Clarisse looked up from the pages at the bedroom door. She already knew who was on the other side, thank you dragon sense of smell, but none-the-less she asked,

"Who is it?" she didn't look up from her book; gambling, shooting guns, flying, and dancing were her favorite pastimes. And it never hurt to brush up on old skills. On the other side of the door, Hiccup's unmistakable voice answered,

"Just me." He replied. Clarisse rolled her eyes slightly when he opened the door; he was still wearing his day-clothes, how he planned on sleeping in them comfortably with all those armory details, Clarisse didn't know. She got up from the bed and stood in front of her twin with an expressionless face.

"Can I help you? Or do you just want to talk?" she asked, crossing her arms with her best supportive smirk. Hiccup sighed and ran a hand through his hazel hair that matched her own, the only difference was that Clarisse's was elbow-length and decorated with her three signature braids. Two on the left, one cutting through the rest of her loose hair on the right. At the moment her hair and braids were all tied up in a piece of red clothe. The dragon-boy took a seat on a chair near Clarisse's desk, staring at the floor thoughtfully.

"I honestly have no idea what to even talk about," Hiccup started, "I mean, what would you say if you found out you were meant to save the world?" Clarisse chuckled at the question. Believe it or not, she had had her fair share of adventure and supposed 'destiny,' all turning out in some big mess with gun-fights, new scars, and a pretty ironic ending. To be honest, Clarisse has seen a few things involving the supernatural- thank you Tia Marina- and at this point she didn't think anything could freak her out. Until now.

She sighed and uncrossed her arms, "Yah, it's a lot to take in." she locked eyes with Hiccup, jade green searching forest green for some kind of similar fear. "But I wouldn't worry too much, Tia is the best mystic witch I know, she can help us." Clarisse felt like she wasn't telling the honest truth. Sure Tia Marina was keen in dealing with the abnormal and the supernatural, but for some reason Clarisse felt like this prophecy was beyond her. And then there was this 'dark energy' that was feeding off of her and her new friends, what the heck was that about?! Her mind went back to the so-called 'darkness' that Hiccup and Clarisse would have to face, and they'd need to train their powers to do it and win. But what if they couldn't do it? What if they failed and the known world would fall because of it? What if… no. no, she couldn't think like that. Her father said that the simplest words _What_ and _If _could destroy one's confidence and bravery all together. After all, who said they couldn't defeat the Darkness? Clarisse was a draki! A Dragon's Blood, and Hiccup: he was something else, he may not even know it. But Clarisse sensed it, she knew what he was. She didn't think they even existed outside of books and legend, but then again Clarisse was technically the only draki to ever live past the age of twelve. Maybe that's why the twins were meant to defeat the Darkness together. Because they were like yin and yang, night and day, the Dragon's Blood… and the Dragon Heart.

"Clarisse?" Hiccup asked, snapping Clarisse out of her deep thinking. She looked up to see him with a concerned look, it didn't take an expert to notice she had looked scared. Which didn't happen very often. She put on her best fake smile in return, hiding her spark of fear from her twin. She met his green eyes, flashing her devilish smirk,

"Not to worry Hiccup, it will all be explained in the morning." With that she herded him out of her room and shut the door behind him. Clarisse let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. With a worried glance she held up her arm to see it in the candle light. Another dark purple smudge had painted itself on her forearm, and on her shoulder, then one more on her ankle. Clarisse couldn't escape the feeling of dread at the thought of the Darkness feeding off of her friends. Did they have bruises like these? She tried her best to push the thoughts away as she picked up her gambling book and set it on her desk. Clarisse sighed as she climbed into bed and blew out the candle, hopefully she'd sleep more peacefully than she felt when she was awake.

Unfortunately, Luna had other plans.

Again, dreams were never Clarisse's style. But with all of this foretelling great power and defeating thousand-year-old villains, not much could surprise Clarisse anymore. Of course she was wrong. She woke up in the grand room again, seeing the gold and silver jeweled chariots made her feel the slightest bit better; at least she was in a place she recognized. Other than the on-going ceiling and the ancient tapestries that decorated the walls, Clarisse felt so much like she'd been here before. Give or take she had been there before, in a dream at least, but she couldn't help but feel like she'd been here more than just once. Like she'd lived here in another life.

"Hey," Clarisse jumped at Hiccup's voice behind her. She shot him her dragon glare,

"Geez man, don't do that again!" she growled. Hiccup held up his hands innocently, a slight smirk on his face.

"Sorry," he said apologetically. "So, here we are again." He said, trying to break through Clarisse's dragon stare with small-talk. But it seemed to do the job, Clarisse's gaze went back to her surroundings; the silver and gold chariots, the three balconies overlooking the great room, and how could she forget that tacky snake-skin rug.

_Yep!_ Said the irreplaceable voice of King Solaris. The twins turned to face the sun king; he was standing regally next to Queen Luna as usual, but this time someone else was with them.

The girl looked like an older version of Astrid; same blond hair, same storm blue eyes, except this woman's eyes seemed to dance and flow with some sort of electric energy. Clarisse could even see tiny little lightning bolts flashing in her blue irises. She wore a dress that was sky blue, and it looked like it was made of dragon scales, which freaked Clarisse out the slightest bit. But then again she wore dragon scale clothing every day so she shouldn't criticize. The woman's sure-coat was a bright shade of storm grey, with frilly sleeves that differed in shades of grey and blue, and a copper belt and grey trail. A copper crown sat on her head, and a matching necklace around her neck. Each piece jeweled with electric blue sapphires and bronze orbs. Though Clarisse never imagined seeing Blondie in a dress, she still knew this person as if she'd known her forever.

"Queen Tempest." She said it as more of a statement, not a question. Hiccup was just staring at her like he'd seen a ghost, which would have been kind of funny if the situation wasn't so serious. Tempest showed a confidant grin, her teeth the color of fresh white clouds.

_Queen of the sky, night or day, I don't really care which_. She said with a shrug. Okay, this was defiantly Astrid. Solaris came up to her and draped an arm over her shoulder, Luna rolling her eyes the slightest bit. Only slightly.

_And she's also my sister-in-law_ Luna added with slight annoyance in her melodic voice. Tempest put on what Clarisse assumed was her best false-hurt face,

_Honestly Luna, a thousand years has passed and you still hate me?_ Tempest said with a playful smirk. Luna folded her arms and arched an eyebrow, her silver eyes laced with obvious sarcasm.

_Hate is a very strong word, I prefer… despise. Besides you don't like me either._ Luna shot back. Hiccup and Clarisse were shooting their heads back and forth between the two queens' conversation like it was an interesting game of tennis. Solaris chuckled heartedly and interrupted the women,

_Alright, you both know we're not here to bicker._ The king turned to the twins in front of him, his features gentle yet tough. Like an eroded rock pulled from the ocean. Luna and Tempest huffed before their gazes averted back to calm and regal like always. Clarisse exchanged a quick glance with Hiccup with a look that read 'well this explains a lot.' He gave a slight chuckle in reply before the king and queens spoke up again.

_Well, I'm sure you have more questions, so we'll get right to the point._ Tempest started placing her hand on her jutted out hip. Clarisse bristled slightly at the gesture; even when she's a thousand year old sky-queen Astrid was _still_ annoying and sassy. Tempest was about to say more when Luna interrupted with her graceful arms crossed,

_The evil you will face is malevolent, demonic and will do anything do get what she wants. **Anything**._ Clarisse swore she saw Luna tear up a bit. She must have been right because, surprisingly, Tempest put a comforting hand on the moon queen's shoulder. Luna gave a faint smile in return, but her silver eyes still reflected hurt, sorrow, and a tang of regret. Hiccup, being the annoyingly kind, supportive guy he was, decided to change the subject for Luna's sake.

"You said 'she.' Does this, thing, even have a name?" he asked. The three rulers exchanged worried glances, as if debating whether or not to tell the twins the bad news, whatever it may be.

"What?" Clarisse pried, "What is it?" Luna looked down at her hands, so Solaris decided to answer for her.

_This thing is as old as the sun and moon itself, there is a moon queen for a reason. The moon is the light that keeps the ongoing darkness at bay. _Solaris explained. _And this darkness has always woken up to swallow the light and plunge the world into endless darkness, endless chaos._

_She goes by many names,_ Tempest added, a grim tone lacing itself into her voice. _But, there is only one that is the most known._

"Well what is it?" Clarisse demanded. There was fear and annoyance in her voice, that much she let on. Hiccup gave her a look that might have read 'give them a break they're a thousand years old.' But she ignored him. Tempest looked like she was about to speak, but Luna cut her off,

_Laufeia._ She choked out in a tone hitched with hatred, sadness, and again regret.

The memory came flooding back into Hiccup's mind; the dream, some parts were still fuzzy, but he remembered the part about the place with the stone pyramid. And then, her. That witch Laufeia whipped his memory! He remembered her telling him about a curse, one that caused Luna to become Laufeia's host.

"Wait," he interrupted, his face showing obvious fear and worry. "Laufeia visited me, in a dream; she said something about a curse." At the very same moment he said that, Clarisse saw tears well up in Luna's eyes. What was she so upset about? The queen looked her dead in the eye before continuing,

_When we were involved in this, as you are now, Solaris and I both had dragons like you two._ Luna began.

"You did?" Hiccup asked. Clarisse was just as interested in this as her twin was. They had dragons too? Was that why she was always so drawn to the beautifully strange creatures? Pfft, no. she was drawn to dragons because their blood ran through her veins. She was a draki, a Dragon's Blood. Luna nodded to Hiccup's question before continuing.

_We met them during a raid; they were common since we grew up on Berk. Anyway, they were both so beautiful and magnificent that our father couldn't bring himself to kill them. The dragons were loyal to him from that day on, he spared them, and in return they protected him and the ones he loved most._ Luna explained, a small smile tugging at the corners of her rose-pink lips. Solaris took up the story,

_He left them to us when he died. We tamed them, gained their trust, and eventually we were thick as thieves with our Anemi dragons._ Solaris boasted with a hearted laugh. There it was again. Anemi. Zephryna was an Anemi dragon the last time Clarisse checked. Wait, she thought. Tia Marina said that she'd watched over Zephryna for centuries. Did the massive dragon belong to one of the royal twins?

"What did you name them?" Hiccup asked. Clarisse scrunched up her nose at this. They were being told advice that could defeat Laufeia and save the world, and he was wondering about what name the king and queen called their dragons?! Non-the-less Tempest answered for them.

_I knew them both well, we all called them Boreas and Zephryna. _The sky queen explained. And Bam! There it was! Zephryna _was_ one of the twins' dragons! Hiccup put the puzzle pieces together in his mind too.

"Wait. Did you say Zephryna?" he asked. Tempest gave a gentle nod before Hiccup turned to Clarisse with a rather humorous expression that said 'did I hear them right or am I going crazy?'

"Yep." She replied to her twin. "Same Zephryna that lives with Tia Marina." Hiccup began stuttering randomly about how that was impossible, and that it would make Tia over a thousand years old, and blah, blah, blah. When he finally got himself together again, he asked the royals,

"So then, where's Boreas?" You just had to open your mouth Hiccup. He must have hit a pretty delicate nerve because Luna now looked like she wanted to curl up into a ball and cry. She turned away from the teens to whip her tears away. Her brother probably didn't want to make her answer so he did it instead.

_He's… gone. Died in battle._ He said simply. Solaris and Tempest lowered their heads respectfully, the twins doing the same. Clarisse gave a pitiful pair of green eyes to the queen; she couldn't imagine losing her dragon. The thought was impossible; Spectrum was a part of her. As much as she was a part of him.

_He died a warrior's death. He gave himself to protect me, and for that we will never forget Boreas._ Luna said with one final sniff. Solaris and Tempest both gave a firm nod in agreement.

_This is why we should tell you that Laufeia is building an army. You need to stop her in time._ Tempest added. Clarisse made a face; seriously? They could just give them the deadline right on the spot? She was so tired of all the vagueness. She liked riddles as much as the next girl, but this was getting old.

_Laufeia and her shadow forces are strongest on the night of the blood moon._ Solaris continued._ It happens once in a generation and is a night most holy to dark witches and shadow worshipers._

"Great, first a dark witch who wants to kill us, and now demons. Yay!" Clarisse said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Hiccup gave a small laugh to his twin, which she noticed but decided to ignore. Bigger problems.

_But here's the catch._ Tempest continued.

"Didn't you just say the catch?" Hiccup asked. Clarisse had to agree. She was so hoping for the demons and shadow worshipers to be the end of it. Whatever those were.

_I'm afraid not Hiccup._ Luna spoke up after her long pause. _The catch is that the blood moon is also on the night of an equinox. One of the only two nights every year when day and night are truly equal. It will be the time when your powers are the strongest, and only then will you have the best chance at defeating Laufeia._

_It's also the night you were both born._ Tempest added with a cheeky grin. This seemed to hook Hiccup's interest, but honestly those were the least of the twins' worries. Clarisse simply gave him an annoyed eye-roll and let the king and queens continue.

_We knew Tia Marina well. She'll train you both right, along with that girlfriend of yours._ Solaris threw a wink Hiccup's way and he turned a little redder than usual.

"What about the curse?" Clarisse felt herself ask. The three adults tensed a little but then quickly replied,

_Some things are better left untold._ Luna said in a grim tone. Clarisse bristled a bit. What the heck was that supposed to mean? Luna was dodging the question, and Clarisse wanted to know why. She was about to call the moon queen out on it when Tempest cut her off,

_Well, it seems our time is up. See you both… soon._ And with that the scene faded quickly and Clarisse and Hiccup were sucked into a black abyss.

Clarisse blinked her eyes open, the sun was shining through her window and she couldn't go back to sleep with the light in her eyes. She squeezed them shut and pulled the pillow over her face, groaning at the familiar sound of banshee snores. If Spectrum was still asleep, then she wanted to be too.

_Knock, Knock, Knock!_

Three familiar bangs at her door were enough to annoy Clarisse even further. She pulled back the pillow and grouchily prepared for the day.

She finished tying her loose hair and three braids into a pony-tail as she opened the door. Hiccup must have waited a while, because he was silently dozing beside Toothless in the hallway. Clarisse smirked as she put two fingers to her lips. A shrill whistle rang out in the halls, waking everything that could sleep, including the rest of the sleeping teens. Hiccup jumped up with a start, clearly frazzled from his twin's wake-up-call. He just stared at her with a hand over his chest breathing heavily. Clarisse rolled her eyes with her hands on her hips,

"Morning princess!" she greeted with false excitement. Once her twin figured out that he wasn't having a heart attack, he got to his feet with a groggy expression. She snickered at him; he clearly had come to wake her up, and now it seemed that the roles were switched. Astrid came out of her temporary room with her axe strapped to her back and a sense of exhaustion in her posture. Weird, she was usually the first one up and around.

"Do you think that maybe we could've told someone back home that we'd be here for a while?" she asked. Clarisse supposed that Blondie must have figured out about the blood-moon deadline too. She was Tempest's new host after all.

"Ask Tia when we start training today." Clarisse replied with a simple shrug. Astrid scowled in her direction, Clarisse felt the glare itch at the back of her head but she ignored it.

"And there was this really funky smell in my room last night." She added, crossing her arms and following Clarisse and Hiccup down the hall. Clarisse grimaced, what, was she a bell-hop now? "I swear it reeked like someone died." She growled. But Clarisse replied with a calm tone,

"Is it still there?"

"I don't think so." Astrid replied. Clarisse shrugged again and quickened her pace,

"Then problem solved!" and with that she disappeared around a corner, excited about training their so-called 'powers' today. Even though she was a tad worried about their dead-line, whenever it was exactly, today training would begin anew.


	20. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19 Training has only just begun. Part 2**

Astrid had to admit, this was quite the change in Tia Marina's wardrobe. Now I know, she should be focusing on the prophecy, and the blood moon, and the fact that she's hosting a thousand-year-old sky queen. Well the fact that Tia looked like a ninja-nun-voodoo priestess hybrid was really throwing her mind.

The one thing about the outfit that seemed the most normal was the long strand of prayer-beads hanging from the mystic's belt. Her outfit featured a one-sleeve, leather hooded jacket with two long tails and a lace-up front. Tia's left shoulder was protected by a piece of armor, and she wore black fingerless gloves. Also sporting skimpy back shorts, black thigh-highs, and high-heel black leather boots.

At the moment Tia's hood was pulled up over her crimson-red hair, which fell loose around her shoulders, giving her that steam-punk-monk look. Her red-painted smile curled across her features before she spoke,

"Today we begin your training, your training for the prophecy." At least she got right to the point.

"Wait," Snotlout cut Tia off. "if those three are gonna be fighting, and doing magic, and kicking evil's butt, then what are the rest of us supposed to do?" he crossed his arms, the others teens giving silent agreements.

"Yah, we are facing a _demon witch_ people!" Tuffnut threw his arms up in the air in dumb excitement. Astrid noticed Clarisse roll her eyes, but her ocean eyes read that she some-what agreed with the Thorston boy.

"For once," the pirate girl spoke up, her dragon eyes thinned to a point, "I agree with Tuffnut. We might as well try to have some fun with this. After all we are facing a bazillion year-old evil demon/witch/strait up queen of mean and could either save the world from her eternal wrath or stop her from reanimating the power to begin the Norse apocalypse." Astrid had to blink a few times, she didn't know a person could talk that fast, not even Fishlegs who talked _all_ the time. Even he was a bit taken aback by Clarisse's massive pressure builder.

"No pressure."Clarisse said after a long stretch of awkward silence. The semi-psychotic girl had a red lollipop in her mouth, it somehow added to her sense of fearlessness, that she could do something so thoughtless without a care or fear to worry about.

Astrid couldn't help but roll her eyes; just cause she said it doesn't mean the pressure wasn't starting to get to them. I mean, how would you react if someone told you that you had to save the world or watch it end? Tia Marina laced her hands together elegantly,

"All in good time little Babydoll, first we must begin _your_ training." The red-headed mystic explained. In the weeks Astrid had known Clarisse, she began to see more clearly why people called her Babydoll. Though she had Hiccup's face, her nose was smaller and her cheeks had an odd sort of natural blush to them, making her look slightly younger than she actually was. Her green eyes always held that little sparkle that Astrid couldn't figure as curiosity or insanity. And her elbow length hazel brown hair was always choppy, tussled, yet always untangled and glossy. She had that sort of rugged, pirate beauty she'd once heard the guys talking about. What had they said? 'a girl who can kick a guy's butt and get away with it is hot!'

_Focus Astrid._ The voice of Queen Tempest spoke in her head. _This is of the up-most importance._ Astrid gave herself a firm nod before tuning back into Tia's run-through of what their training will be like.

"a quick word of precaution. You will be unprepared."

"we've heard that before." Snotlout muttered, obviously referring to Clarisse's draki training in the weeks before. Clarisse heard him and snickered to herself. For Hiccup's sister she sure had a twisted sense of humor.

"But." she added, unlacing her hands and walking through the garden, her heels clacking against the cobblestone path as the teens followed her. "with the approach of the blood moon, I will train you so you will be prepared." She explained as she walked. She lead them into a larger courtyard, complete with a weapons rack, some type of obstacle course, and four large metal bowls lined up in a perfect line.

Each bowl held some type of natural material. The first held a simple bowl of clear water, the next had some kind of oil in it that was on fire, the third was a pile of rocks and dirt, and the final bowl, one that was made of glass instead of metal and made as a whole sphere, held what looked like fog or mist.

"Just to verify, when is the blood moon?" Fishlegs asked, breaking Astrid's mind away from the metal and glass bowls.

"Yah, and what's a blood moon?" Tuffnut added with his hand on his chin thoughtfully. Astrid rolled her eyes again; of all the people who could've come with her, Hiccup, and Clarisse on this trip. Why did it have to include the twins!? Tia stopped in her tracks and turned to face the boy with a face that read 'seriously?' Clarisse came to his rescue and answered the Thorston twin's dumb question.

"Tuffnut, a blood moon is an eclipse of the moon, it happens only once in a generation and is a night most holy to dark witches and shadow worshippers." She explained quoting King Solaris' words from last night.

Astrid was still a bit fuzzy on how all of that stuff worked. She heard the Haddock and Merrill twins' conversation with the king and queens, but for some reason she wasn't with them. It was like she was dreaming, but all she could do was listen. Like she was there, but she wasn't there.

"That's true, the blood moon is in two months. Which is enough time for Laufeia to build an army. But it's also enough time for you all to master your powers." Tia's hands began to ooze and black smoke. The teens all backed up a little, fearful of what the mystic was doing.

As quickly as it had formed, the black smoke dissipated into the air, leaving a metal box in Tia's ivory pale hands. She carefully opened it and inside were four amulets, some-what similar to Astrid's, Hiccup's and Clarisse's.

Though the designs showed similarities, there were no suns, moons, or lightning bolts among the talismans. There was a skull, a fish, a tree, and a simple circular pendant with a square hole in the center.

Tia turned to Astrid and the hazel-haired twins. "As you three know, you wear amulets that symbolize your destiny," Astrid's eyes immediately went to the golden lightning bolt around her neck. She honestly didn't know it was related to Tempest. Clarisse found it in some old book, she thought it was cool so she put it on. Astrid didn't think it was a big deal until now.

Tia continued, "but they also supply you with your powers. Each ancient ruler had certain natural elements they could control, such as earth, air, fire, water, etc. but with the right amount of training you will be able to do these things without the amulets."

"Cool!" the twins oohed in unison. Tia Marina took each amulet out of the box and hung them on her wrist by the string that held them. Her chocolate brown eyes scanned through the four teenagers without amulets, searching them for something that Astrid couldn't see. The mystic's eyes stopped on Snotlout, the Jorgenson boy held perfectly still under the interrogation light that was Tia's gaze. She cocked her head to the side, eyes narrowed with curiosity.

"You." She started, herding Snotlout forward to stand by her side. The amulet charms jingled like chimes when she walked; Tia sorted through them as they hung from her pale arm. She carefully unhooked the skull amulet from her wrist and slipped it over Snotlout's head to hang around his neck.

Astrid's eyes widened in shock as the skull charm glowed with a shadowy light. The empty iron eye-sockets of the skull glowed blue before the shadowy light faded and it became a harmless skull charm again.

"Death magic." Tia said simply. Snotlout grinned devilishly, clearly happy about being able to use 'death magic' whatever that meant. Before Astrid could ask, Tia answered,

"As a death magician you will be able to control shadows, travel throughout them, manipulate darkness and sometimes light, and even have the ability to gain energy by sapping the energy from another; that part will only work on dark souls." Tia explained as Snotlout fiddled with his new skull amulet, not entirely paying attention to the mystic woman's critical knowledge. Astrid rolled her eyes before Tia stood in front of the twins next.

She tapped her chin thoughtfully, looking back and forth between Ruffnut and Tuffnut for about a minute before she shrugged defeated. The red-headed mystic held up two amulets in front of them, the tree, and the circle with the square hole- Astrid assumed it represented a rock. Finally Tia made a decision and placed the tree around Ruff's neck, and the rock around Tuff's. Both charms briefly glowed with a matching green light before fading away again.

"Awesome!" Ruff exclaimed, punching her fist in the air.

"What kind of magic do we get?" Tuff asked excitedly, sounding like a little kid. Tia chuckled at their enthusiasm, even if it was for possible destruction.

Tia Marina looked Ruffnut dead in the eyes, her gaze soft and maternal. "Nature magic. You can make things grow or wither, have partial communication skills with living creatures, and the ability to gain power by absorbing light."

"That is so cool!" Ruffnut shouted happily. She took the tree charm in her hand and bit down on it, the metal not bending with the force of her teeth. Apparently satisfied with that, Ruffnut let the amulet dangle at her chest again. Tia smiled again before turning back to Tuffnut, who had an expectant look in his eye that clearly read that he was on edge. Astrid chuckled to herself at the thought of Tuffnut getting stuck with some lame power while his sister got to do a bunch of other cool stuff.

"Earth magic. You can create earthquakes, bend the earth at your own will, and can draw vibrations from the earth and manipulate them into lethal sound waves." Tuffnut probably didn't know what most of that meant, but everyone else did catch one crucial piece of info. Tuffnut could make earthquakes. That was just great! Astrid thought with obvious sarcasm. Tuff grinned wolfishly at his sister, they head-butted and Tia giggled at their antics. It was a miracle this woman could be so calm all the time around these guys.

With one final charm left- the fish –Tia approached Fishlegs and gently placed it around his neck.

"You will be blessed with Ocean magic. You can control water, manipulate sound waves like the ocean, and can breathe underwater." Fishlegs bounced slightly with excitement.

"This is amazing. Now I can study water dragons in their natural habitat!" he squealed like a child, it was pretty funny.

"This is the best thing ever!" Fishlegs attacked Tia with a monster hug, which she smiled at warmly in return. Astrid caught Clarisse giggling under her breath at the sight of Tia Marina being lifted off the ground like a rag-doll. To be honest she couldn't help but let out a muffled giggle as well.

"Great, I know I was awesome and great before, but now we've all got super powers!" Snotlout boasted lifting his arms in a typical flex. Astrid would have rolled her eyes with a muffled growl, but she was just as excited as everyone else was.

"What powers do Hiccup, Astrid, and Clarisse have?" Fishlegs asked while examining his fish charm. Hah! See the irony. _Fish-_legs was wearing a _fish_ amulet. Tia went to stand by the four bowls that held the fire, water, dirt, and fog.

"All of them." Tia outstretched her arms along the metal containers, as if the answer was obvious. Everyone's eyes widened a bit, three said teens in particular. Astrid was a tad flabbergasted; all of them?

"As the sun king, Solaris possessed the powers of fire, light, nature, and earth. He possessed the powers of those magic's as well." Hiccup nodded thoughtfully, fingering his sun amulet thoughtlessly as if it was a natural thing.

Tia continued, "As the ruler of the moon and the night, Luna had the powers of shadows, water, and music- to symbolize the tranquility and beauty that the moon gave. Clarisse will have the advantage of being a draki so we can add fire to that lost as well." Clarisse smiled warmly like she was thinking of something happy. Tia noticed this and smiled in return.

"And finally, you." Astrid bristled with nervousness when Tia Marina locked eyes with her. What would her powers be? The anticipation was killing her!

"Queen Tempest possessed the strong powers of air, lightning, water, and metal."

"Metal?" Snotlout asked with a bit of a sneer to his voice. "What's so powerful about metal?"

Tia grinned with narrowed eyes at the Jorgenson boy's comment. Her chocolate eyes locked on the metal hammer at Snotlout's belt.

"Metal is powerful because you can do things like this," Tia lifted her hand in his direction, the metal forged hammer moving with her. She made it lift in the air and smack Snotlout right in the head.

"Ow! Hey!" he yelped in pain, realizing that Tia hit him with his own hammer. Everyone burst out laughing at that, Snotlout glared at them after Tia let his hammer go, not like anyone cared though. Even Tia had to cover her mouth to stifle her giggles. Everyone eventually got it together and Tia stepped towards the fire-bowl.

"Hiccup, you will go first?" she asked, her heavy accented voice was surprisingly calming to Astrid and the others. Though he hesitated, Hiccup stood across from Tia, the only thing between them being the bowl of live flames licking at the icy Himalayan air.

"Uh, what do I do?" Hiccup asked once he realized he didn't know how to use his so-called powers. Tia Marina sighed and positioned the young Viking in a stance that was perfect for fire-channeling.

"Relax, take a deep breath," she spoke in the most soothing and relaxing voice the mystic could speak. "Feel the life and energy within the flames…" Hiccup's green-eyed gaze locked solely on the fire before him. He could defiantly feel the heat from it, but that's what fire is. Heat. The bright red flames seemed to flow and move in some kind of intricate dance; twisting and writhing with life.

Tia continued, Hiccup still lost in the hypnotic dance of the flames. "Close your eyes…" Hiccup did as she said, and closed his eyes. But when he did, he still saw the light moving and dancing with the reds and gold of the fire. He hadn't even known he was doing it, but he reached out a hand to touch it.

"Imagine the fire, moving at your own command."

And with those final soft spoken words, like that from a mother, Hiccup could feel the heat of the flames moving closer to him; flowing through the air towards him in a serpentine pattern of movements. He heard the others give small gasps, some oohs and aahs, what was he doing?

Hiccup made the stupid mistake of opening his eyes and loosing focus. Once he laid eyes on the snake-like fire making its way across the courtyard towards him. He gasped in surprise and jolted his hand back, the fire copying his sudden movement and shooting towards where Clarisse and Astrid were standing

Luckily they were quick enough to duck out of the way, Clarisse giving a surprised yelp. The fireball hit a marble Buddha statue, decapitating it. The Buddha head landed in its own lap, looking quite calm despite being be-headed.

"What the heck man!" Clarisse growled, annoyed. She'd dropped the red lollipop out of her mouth, and looking pretty mad about it too. Astrid was more annoyed that Hiccup nearly took her head off with a fireball!

"Sorry guys, it's harder than it looks." Hiccup said apologetically while rubbing the back of his head shyly. Tia placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, smiling warmly as per-usual.

"That is what practice is for Hiccup, don't worry." Hiccup was somewhat surprised by Tia's maternal attitude. But Clarisse had told him that before she was her 'aunt,' as she still called her, had become a witch and a user of white magic, her name had been Marina Gorski, and she changed it to Tia Marina after Clarisse's father Larson brought her to Tia. And that Tia was the Greek term for Aunt.

Tia Marina spoke up so the other teens could hear her. "We have much work to do, but I assure you, you will be ready. You have everything you need."

Hiccup smiled at her; when he was a kid, his good friend and mentor Gobber had told him the same thing. In a way, Tia was like his sister's Gobber. They were both heavily accented, and had an acquired sense of humor. Huh, he thought. You have everything you need.

Tia spoke again. "Now fight."


	21. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20 Girls vs. Boys**

**_Two Months Later…_**

"Come on Blondie, focus your mind!" Tia Marina ordered in her heavy accent. Clarisse watched as Astrid was going through an obstacle course while using her element. The pirate girl's mystic aunt had taken up the nick-names Clarisse had given her new friends. Including calling her twin brother Hiccup Spike. Technically it was Spiked, but same difference anyway. She and Astrid were training with Tia while the boys were off with their dragons for the day. Ruffnut got sick the previous day and had to stay in bed; apparently using nature magic to grow poison ivy in your twin brother's bed-sheets makes you get food poisoning. The girl Thorston twin was probably vomiting in her room as we speak.

Clarisse still couldn't believe it had been two whole months since she and her new Viking friends arrived at the isolated Chinese monastery in Nepal. They had become more involved with this prophecy they were supposed to complete, along with fighting the occasional demon that tried to attack the monastery. Emphasis on 'try.' The demons that the evil witch Laufeia sent to spy on the teens while they trained to defeat her had always been smashed, cut-up, or burnt to a pile of ashes. They were nasty little buggers I'll tell you what. Usually having a werewolf appearance like in Clarisse's dream visions. But sometimes they were hideous reptilian creatures that looked like a crocodile and a really ugly man had an _extremely_ ugly baby. And on the rarest occasions, the demons came in the form of what Clarisse and everyone else called Dragonbats. No offense to dragons of course. The dragonbats always attacked from the air, so the teens usually had to take them down using their dragons. It was a great trust builder, and it helped in keeping their powers sharp and agile.

The demon attacks also helped Clarisse get into tune with her inner healer. Yep, that's right, Clarisse had taken a liking to healing magic as well as lunar magic- as she called it, –and it came in handy when someone needed a few stitches. She simply used her water magic combined with Tia Marina's healing magic, and ta-da! Instant healing master!

"Remember Astrid, cut all emotional ties, and become wind." She heard Tia instruct. Clarisse broke her thoughts to continue observing Astrid train in the near impossible to complete obstacle course. To trick was to navigate through the spinning plates and walls while balancing perfectly and using your element. It was the easiest for said sky-queen host, yet she still had yet to make it past the first wall.

Astrid seemed to be making through at an easy pace, dodging the swinging wooden masts while creating strong winds to through them out of her way. Good news, she seemed to have broken her personal record. Bad news, she didn't see the wooden mast swinging right for her gut.

The wooden arm sucker punched the blond Viking right in the stomach. She stumbled back, getting hit in the back by another arm, then in the shins, and finally in the face.

Clarisse winced slightly when Astrid fell out of the arms and face-first into the dirt. A painful groan escaped the blond girl as Clarisse rushed over with her container of water. Astrid lifted her head up with obvious effort, her face covered in dirt and her left cheek grazed with two thin cuts. She coughed and a small cloud of dust flew out. Clarisse chuckled as she helped Astrid onto her feet.

"Having trouble with the arms of pain Blondie?"

Astrid shot her a glare before she sat on one of the training benches.

"Ha ha, shut up!" she snapped. Clarisse ignored her and opened her water container. She focused her energy on the movement and life of the water, moving it with her hands. The serpentine pattern of clear liquid gathered up at Astrid's cuts and scrapes, mostly at her arms and face. The blond took a deep breath as the water glowed with a faint blue light, indicating that the healing process was working.

Once she could feel no more wound, Clarisse pulled the water away and it weaved its way back into the container. Clarisse sealed the lid and checked for any remanding wounds.

"There you go," she told Astrid with a boastful smirk.

"Thanks." Astrid replied.

"Don't worry child, you'll get it." Tia Marina added as she came up to the girls. Astrid and Clarisse both smiled at the mystic's encouraging words.

"Thanks Tia." Tia Marina's calm red smile spread across her kind pale face. Two months they'd been training and though their powers had gotten stronger, they were still no closer to being strong enough to defeat Laufeia. And with all the demons and creatures she was constantly sending after them, she obviously had the upper hand at the moment. And though they'd never exactly faced Laufeia herself, Hiccup and Clarisse were often visited by her in nightmares or visions. She always babbled on about how defeating her is absurd, and they cannot win, and blah, blah, blah.

"Try again." Tia advised. Astrid nodded and climbed back up to the start of the course.

"Hey!" Clarisse stopped her before she began. Tia and Astrid both looked at her, "How about we make this a little fun?"

"What do you mean?" Astrid asked with her eyebrow arched. Clarisse grinned her devilish smile and climbed up to stand beside Astrid at the start of the arms of pain.

Clarisse explained "We race, and make it more fun. You practice your elements, I'll practice mine." Astrid pondered this for a moment, it did sound like fun.

"Alright, what do you say Tia?" the two girls turned towards the mystic with slightly pleading eyes. Tia Marina wore a thoughtful expression for a few seconds while the girls both mentally crossed their fingers.

"Why not?" Tia finally said with a shrug. The girls did mental fist-pumping when they exchanged competitive glances.

"You should go first." Clarisse suggested, gesturing to the already active swinging arms in the start of the course. Her pupils thinned to dragonbat-fang sharp. Astrid smirked back,

"No, you go first." She was trying to give false support, but they still very much hated each other.

Before Astrid could make a dash for through the spinning arms, Clarisse interrupted her focus.

"Okay." And with that she took off running, leaving Astrid to try and keep up. Clarisse hadn't been on this course for a while, and it felt good to keep herself quick and agile like a draki should be.

With scary quickness Clarisse gracefully dodged each arm that swung at her. It was kind of difficult since the spinning extensions lunged at the girl from almost every direction; most of her dragon-like movements were because of her incredibly flexible spine. With a physical ability like that she could easily confuse any opponent with her agility and speed. Astrid however wasn't holding up as well. The blond Viking kept getting hit in the stomach, but Clarisse had to admit she admired Blondie for keeping up with her despite all the sucker punches. Though she felt kind of bad about it, Clarisse let out a laugh when she looked back and saw Astrid get whammed in the face by an arm she failed to find in all the commotion, whereas Clarisse had already made it through the arms of pain and was waiting patiently for Astrid to finish.

"In the face! _In the face!"_ Clarisse howled with laughter. Astrid stopped dead in her tracks, jaw clenched and hands balled into tight frustrated fists. She looked like she was about to either murder someone or scream. Probably both. But, surprisingly, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Astrid held perfectly still as the arms spun around her, but not a single one hit her. Clarisse ceased her laughter to observe the strange actions of the Viking girl.

Astrid didn't move, she didn't speak, and Clarisse didn't even think she was breathing. The bruised and battered blond just stood there, eyes closed, perfectly calm. And with the swiftest movement Clarisse had ever seen on a non-draki, Astrid willed the winds to move at her command. Strong gusts of icy wind burst from her hands, slowing the arms of pain and allowing her to summersault through them. The blond was now dodging arms instead of getting hit by them, moving with surprising grace and stability.

Once Astrid had made it through the now slow moving arms of pain, she opened her eyes and her body relaxed. Clarisse gave her an impressed smile, to which Blondie turned and blew another strong wind into the arms, allowing them to spin at a deadly speed once again. She sighed, seemingly out of breath as she breathed heavily to regain the wind she lost in the arms of pain. Tia Marina came up to the girls, clapping her hands together in praise.

"Excellent. Excellent. Excellent!" the girls smiled with pride. "You successfully made it through the course _and_ nearly mastered your element!" Tia clapped her hands together over her chest proudly. Astrid then raised an eyebrow and turned to Clarisse,

"I thought you were going to use your elements?" she said as she crossed her arms. Clarisse batted her eyelashes innocently,

"Technically, being a draki _is_ my element, so I didn't cheat."

"Whatever." Astrid rolled her eyes defeated, to which Clarisse replied with her goofy crooked smile that was identical to Hiccup's. The smile that, no matter how much she hated Clarisse, Astrid could never stay mad at. And Clarisse knew that she much preferred it over her usual devilish smirk.

"No matter, you both did magnificent, a shame that Ruff couldn't be here though." Tia sighed, making the girls feel kind of guilty at having this much fun without their loud and obnoxious Thorston girl.

"Especially since Clarisse and Tuffnut are in-like." Astrid playfully sneered; she batted her eyes and lacing her hands together in a false dreamy expression. For the oddest reason, Clarisse felt her cheeks heat up at the thought of her and Tuff together, especially since she hated him, as much as he hated her. And her hatred for the annoying blond twin grew a bazillion times when he kissed her two months ago on the Solar Flare. Clarisse remembered punching him in the face and nearly killing him afterwards. But, to be honest it wasn't that bad. The kiss was actually, pretty decent. Wait, what?! What was she thinking?! Clarisse shook her head to clear the thought away; she didnot, I repeat, did_ not_ like Tuffnut Thorston. Gross.

"Do not!" was all she could think of for a come-back. Come one Clarisse, get your head together.

"Then why are you blushing?!" Astrid shot back, her smirk growing by the second at the thought of Clarisse liking someone as chaotic, and annoying, and insensitive as she was. That seemed to shut her up quite nicely; Clarisse turned away with a scowl on her face and her blush deepening much to her fury.

"Anyway," Tia interrupted, ending the conversation about being in-like. "Now that this part of your training is complete Clarisse, you and your brother are ready to begin convergence." She explained, causing the two girls to look at each other with confused faces.

"The, what?" Astrid finally said. The mystic laced her hands together elegantly before replying,

"I will explain everything, but, in the meantime, try hand-to-hand combat again." She advised. At those words, Clarisse and Astrid exchanged another competitive glance.

"You ready Blondie?" Clarisse asked as she got into her fighting stance. She unclipped her whip from her belt and used her water magic to reinforce the leather whip with a long tendril of water, making it stronger, longer, and a lot more painful.

Astrid added her own touch as well to her weapon. Her battle axe sparked and radiated powerful electricity, the occasional mini-lightning bolt zapping out from the double blades.

"Bring it on Babydoll." And with that they both charged, ready to fight, and prepared to win.

"Hey Hiccup, do you have any anti-itch magic in you?" Tuffnut asked. Hiccup couldn't help but chuckle slightly at Tuff scratching himself like a monkey for the past few hours. Ruffnut had decided to use her nature magic to grow poison ivy in her brother's bed, it worked, but now she was sick in bed with food poisoning. The back-fired prank was torturing both twins now.

"Sorry Tuff, but no." Hiccup replied from Toothless' back. The guys had agreed to go flying for the day while Astrid and Clarisse trained with Tia Marina, and while Ruffnut was in her room vomiting for the remainder of the day. Tia had explained that if you overuse your magic, you could make yourself sick or worse. Extreme overdose of magic-use will most likely burn you out. Literally.

He still found it hard to believe how much the dragon riders of Berk had learned over the past two months. Hiccup was much better at using his element now, which meant no more accidental explosions. Most of the time. But he still worried about the coming battle with Laufeia and her army. Like Tia said, two months was enough time for her to build an unstoppable army, but it was also enough time to train them to defeat an unstoppable army. And he still worried about Clarisse. Not that he didn't think she could handle herself out in the wild; it was just that, ever since they'd met she'd been reluctant to call him family. He didn't want to say anything because he didn't think they were close enough for that yet. And that was the whole problem. He saw Clarisse as a sister, so why did she see him as her brother?

"Hey Hiccup?" Tuff asked, snapping Hiccup out of his thoughts. He steered Toothless to the right so he could face the Thorston boy's question.

"Yah?" Tuffnut rubbed the back of his head nervously, like he was having trouble with his words.

"Has Clarisse ever… you know, does she ever, say anything, about me?" he asked, the slightest hint of red creeping into his face. Hiccup was slightly surprised by the question. Tuffnut was asking him if Clarisse ever talked about him? Well, she did. But it was only to say things like: 'he is such an immature ass!' or 'of all the people we could've brought on this trip why'd we bring him?' or even the occasional 'if he talks to me like that again I will choke him out with his own dread-locks!'

All in all they didn't get along that well. So then, why was Tuff suddenly asking about her? Unless…

Snotlout beat his cousin to the question. "Aww, I think Tuffnut's in-like with your sister." He sneered jokingly. Fishlegs and Hiccup joined Snotlout in the friendly laugh, leaving Tuff the slightest bit redder than before.

"Hate to tell you this Tuff, but I think Clarisse hates you." Fishlegs added.

Hiccup turned to Tuffnut again, a slightly teasing grin on his face, "Especially after that little 'incident' on the Solar Flare." Tuffnut got a proud look and puffed out his chest a little bit.

"You guys can't tell me she didn't enjoy that." He said.

"She punched you in the face man!" Snotlout snapped back, trying to keep himself from bursting out laughing, but not a lot.

"Hey, it could happen, we have a lot in common." Tuff puffed out his chest again and flipped some of his dreaded hair over his shoulder in a slightly feminine manner, making Hiccup snicker under his breath.

"Like what?" Fishlegs spoke up before Hiccup lost it. Thanks Fish.

"She's fearless, I'm fearless. She's stubborn, I'm stubborn. She's tough, I'm tough. She's pretty… I'm gorgeous!" he practically shouted that last part.

"I get stubborn, and tough, but the rest of that is just not likely." Snotlout snickered. Hiccup laughed too. I mean, sure Tuff and Clarisse constantly flirted with one another on a regular basis, but it usually ended up having one or both of them getting a new bruise. But, he couldn't get his mind off of the prophecy. There were too many questions unanswered. The curse in particular. What was Luna so afraid of talking about? If she, Solaris, and Tempest were scared of this curse, then obviously Hiccup should be worried too. He didn't know how he knew, but Hiccup felt in his gut that it had something to do with Luna's dragon Boreas, and how he died.

"Earth to Hiccup!" Hiccup jerked back to reality when he heard Snotlout trying to get his attention.

"Huh, what?" Snotlout rolled his eyes,

"I said, are you in for a race around the mountain? Here to the cave pools and back." He explained with that competitive look in his eye which he had, well, always.

Hiccup leaned closer down to Toothless' hearing level, "What do you think bud?" he asked his night fury. The black dragon narrowed his eyes and gave a mischievous grin, giving Hiccup his answer. And with that the boy and his dragon shot through the mountain air like a dark bullet, leaving the other guys in the dust.

"Come on!" Snotlout groaned, "Whoever loses dares Tuffnut to ask out Clarisse!" Hookfang sped off following Toothless as best he could.

"What?!" Tuff stammered before he sped off after the other guys on Belch and Barf. Ruffnut was still sick so he had to ride alone, which was a bit difficult considering the two heads, but he got on okay. Fishlegs and Meatlug finally got to a good racing speed, and the race began. The boys unknowing of another set of bloodshot white eyes watching them.

"Urg!" Laufeia through one of her cursed bottles at the cold stone wall. The dark glass shattered on contact, releasing a vengeful sprit into the universe, but they did no real harm to her anyway. Laufeia was furious; how is it that two naïve teenagers make constant fools of her creatures?! She decided a few days ago to stop wasting her army on them and just continue feeding off of Luna's little birdie. But even that was becoming more difficult.

"My lady, what seems to trouble you?" asked a young girl with sickly pale skin, jet black hair, and orb-like black eyes. Laufeia growled under her breath and turned to the black-haired girl,

"Nyx, those insolent children are making fools of my army! They grow stronger every day, and here I am hiding in the shadows feeding off of that pirate like an animal!" Laufeia curled her lip in a deep snarl, her bloodshot white eyes glowing with dark magic. The girl called Nyx answered back,

"But you still have the upper hand, my lady. Because of that girl's reluctance to accept the boy as her brother, she grows weaker without knowing, allowing you to feed and sap her power in secret." Laufeia lifted her head in a terrifyingly calm manner.

"This is very true Nyx. And I still have my curse to fulfill, if it worked on Luna, it will surly work on this girl." Nyx couldn't help but let out a small objection to her lady.

"But, my lady, your curse was not successful those thousand years ago. Luna and Solaris defeated you." Laufeia's eyes turned a horrific shade of glowing red as she lunged at the black-eyed girl, her long claw-like nails mere seconds away from shredding her throat. But as the dark lady bored into Nyx's dark eyes, she chuckled demonically.

"Yes, but, Luna and Solaris shared the convergent bond, it made them more compatible and also more powerful. This girl however, she and her brother do not share that bond, which will make this curse all the more easy to enact." Laufeia waved her hand in front of the empty space before her, creating two moving image s in front of her and Nyx. One showed two girls, one with light hair, and the other with dark hair, fighting with a whip and a battle axe. They wore smiles on their young faces even though they were using pretty deadly maneuvers.

"Clarisse, if I win then you have to go out with Tuffnut!" the light-haired girl spoke up. The one with dark hair snorted with laughter as she slashed her whip,

"As if! And don't get too excited Blondie, who said you were going to win?!" and with that the girls continued fighting.

The second image showed four boys riding dragons in what seemed like a race across a mountain range. One boy with dark hair looked exactly like the dark-haired girl from before and rode a night fury.

"Come on buddy, we can't let Tuffnut score a date with my sister now can we?!" he practically shouted over the roaring mountain winds. Laufeia smiled demonically from her spot watching the teens without them knowing.

"Nyx, prepare Eris and yourself for war." Laufeia told the girl. Nyx nodded and exited the dark cave to fetch Laufeia's other daughter. Ironic really: the queen of all evil giving birth to Chaos and Darkness.

"We have much to do." She just studied the twins that were told to defeat her, laughing to herself at the thought. Luna and Solaris may have defeated her, but they shared the bond of the equinox, they shared convergence. These twins however, did not. This would defiantly affect who would win this battle. These two were nowhere near strong enough to defeat her. Laufeia's sickly white eyes watched them as they continued their day without a single fear towards her, which they should have.


	22. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21 Camp-fire songs and a call Home**

What a day. Is what Clarisse had to say. Training all day with Tia and Astrid, and flying with Spectrum and the others for the rest. At the moment she was resting with her head against a monastery column with a red lollipop in her mouth while a bon-fire crackled and danced with light in front of her. Clarisse had developed an excessive sweet-tooth three years ago when her draki side started showing up. Tia had explained that the draki love their sugar. However the heck that worked.

Spectrum was sitting next to her with his huge horse head in her lap while she ran her fingers through his fishy mane absentmindedly. You have no idea how much lighter she was on her feet because of Tia's training. But that mostly had to do with her weapons down-grade. Clarisse always used to carry her katana, dual pistols, crossbow, tomahawk, dagger, and whip. Now she had downgraded to just her katana on her back, her dual pistols in holsters in her belt, and specially forged wrist cuffs that shot cables whenever she wanted. Like a pirate/Viking/girl Spiderman. Except her 'webs' were made of metal and were more like small zip-lines in her wrist cuffs that were usually concealed by her sleeves.

"Hey," Spoke up the familiar voice of her twin. Clarisse blinked open her tired eyes at Hiccup, who was standing next to her with Toothless already curling up by the fire.

"Hi," she replied tiredly, the exhaustion from the day clearly showing in her jade eyes.

"You mind if I sit?" Hiccup asked. Clarisse shook her head and closed her eyes again, allowing her twin to take a seat on the ground in front of her. She was mere seconds away from falling asleep right there, if not for five familiar Viking teens joining them around the warm fire.

"Hey, you guys care if we crash this party?" asked the unmistakable voice of Snotlout. Clarisse just chuckled to herself; how on earth did she have this guy for a relative? Her thoughts were interrupted by a sickly groan from Ruffnut.

"You okay Ruff?" she heard Hiccup ask.

"Don't get your fake leg in a twist, I'm fine!" the twin girl snapped back. Clarisse opened her eyes again to see the five other teens also take seats around the fire, Tuffnut daring to take a rather close seat next to her. She growled in his direction, but he only smirked and sat down anyway. And, surprisingly, Clarisse didn't do anything to stop him. Probably because she was too tired to do so.

"So," Clarisse started as she started to be more awake and put her hands behind her head. "This has been an interesting two months." The others nodded in agreement.

"Yah, we've got superpowers, we fight monsters almost every day, and we get to kick the mother of all evil's sorry butt!" Tuffnut said excitedly while pumping his fist in the air.

"Don't get too excited, the blood moon is only in a few weeks. Anybody else terrified out of their mind?" Astrid asked, a little bit of sarcasm in her voice. Just a little. Clarisse could sense the girl's obvious fear. And why shouldn't she be afraid? They all were. They had to fight the, quite literal, mother of all things dark and evil in the world. And if that title was accurate, then Laufeia would be one, bad, mother.

"Anyway, aside from that depressing note" Clarisse heard herself saying, "I think we should lighten the mood a bit, savvy?" and with that, Clarisse threw the lollipop stick over her shoulder and pulled out something she never thought she'd ever see or play again. Her father's guitar. She salvaged it from the Nightmare Moon along with the other supplies, her mother had taught her to play along with a handful of other instruments when she was little, and she brought the old thing just in case she got bored.

"You play the guitar?" Astrid asked, her eyebrow arched above her stormy blue eye.

"I like a musical girl." Tuffnut threw a wink at Clarisse, to which she ignored as much as possible.

"My mom taught me, let's just say I, 'performed' a lot a few years ago." She explained while tuning the instrument. Thankfully, no one asked questions. Clarisse placed her finger accordingly in the correct chord she wanted, giving the metal strings a melodic strum before the song she was thinking of came to mind. She knew this one like the back of her hand.

_"__And hey darling, I hope you're good tonight..."_ Clarisse strummed the strings of the guitar perfectly as she fearlessly sang out the words of the melodic tune.

_"__And I know you don't feel right when I'm leaving. Yah I want it, but no, I don't need it. Tell me something sweet to get me by…"_ the teens seemed transfixed on Clarisse's serene and hypnotic voice. This girl never ceased to surprise them.

_"'__Cause I can't come back home till they're singing la, la la la, la la la. Till everyone is singing la…" _

With the final strum of the guitar strings Clarisse set the instrument down beside her, awaiting her friends' reactions with her prideful smirk. They all just stared with blank expressions until Hiccup spoke up.

"I didn't know you could sing." He stated.

"There are many things you don't know about me brother dear." Everyone froze for a split second. It happened again. Clarisse actually called Hiccup 'brother!' and for a time, though it was short, she actually meant it.

"is that a draki thing too?" Fishlegs asked. Clarisse shook her head.

"No, it's just me." She smirked again, mostly because of Tuffnut staring at her like a love-struck idiot. Which was pretty amusing if not the slightest bit flattering. She swore she thought she saw him drooling a bit. They were all silent for a moment longer.

"So, Tia says you guys are ready for Convergence. What the heck is that?" Astrid asked, breaking the silence. To be honest, Clarisse had no idea what convergence was. Tia never told her anything about it, which she wasn't loving at the moment. Clarisse had dragon sight, so in term she saw pretty much everything. Every nook, cranny, flaw, weakness and detail in every little thing her green orbs took in. And she had a photographic memory so she was a synch for absorbing and detaining knowledge. In one word, a complete and utter sponge.

"I don't know, I think it has something to do with the whole 'twin' thing." Clarisse guessed. She threw a glance at Hiccup for back-up, but he just shrugged.

"Hello" said a sudden Russian accent. The teens all jumped at the surprise mystic's appearance.

"Tia!" Clarisse said with a face-palm.

"What?" she replied, not understanding why they were all annoyed.

"Nothing, you just snuck up on us, that's all." Hiccup finished, Tia mouthing an understanding 'oh' in reply.

"Well, any who, I was wondering… have you children been feeling home-sick at all?" Tia asked while rummaging through a nap-sack she brought with her.

The teens all exchanged glances before Astrid replied, "I guess so, why?" Tia pulled out a small bottle filled with some kind of grey powder.

"Because, dear Blondie, I thought it best to, keep in touch with your families and tribe during your time here. Besides, it's been two months, and your tribe must be worried by now, so, let's put a stop to that shall we?" Tia pulled the cap off of the bottle and threw a hand-full of the powder into the fire.

The fire exploded in a big ball of burning light.

"Cool!" the twins exclaimed, their eyes wide as they stared at the beautiful explosion.

"It's glorious." Tuffnut sighed happily.

The fire-ball died down to the previous size of the bon-fire, only this time, they could see Berk.

It was a lot like the dragon-fire crystals Clarisse used to show them the way to find Tia, except this one showed Berk. The village was going about like a normal day, children playing, mean either napping or rough-housing, and the chief preparing what looked like a search party.

"What's Stoick doing?" Clarisse asked, curious about the chief that was her birth-father. Hiccup shrugged again.

"It looks like he's preparing a search party!" Astrid exclaimed, realization laced within her voice.

"Well we have been gone for two months." Fishlegs added.

"That is what this is for. Say a name, any name of someone you love." Tia directed. The teens, including Clarisse, exchanged confused and nervous glances. What in Thor's name did she mean by that? Oh dear god, did Clarisse just think the words 'What in Thor's name'? Since when did she ever make a reference to a Norse god?

Hiccup was the first to speak up, breaking Clarisse's train of thought. "Uh, Stoick the Vast?"

As soon as he said their father's name, Stoick appeared in the fire picture. He was ordering Viking warriors around like it was serious business.

_"__Alright, we set sail tomorrow morning, and we won't come back till we find my son and my daughter!"_ he barked angrily.

"Dad!" Hiccup happily greeted his father. Stoick shot up like a bottle-rocket at the sound of his son's voice. He turned back to his men for a second.

"Go and prepare the ships." And with that he stalked off back to the house. Once he was safe behind his own front door, he said to himself.

"Hiccup?" his eyes darted all over as if he was hearing a ghost.

"It's us dad, we're all safe, you can call off the search party." Hiccup said trying to calm his father's nerves. Stoick gave a sigh of relief before his face fell serious.

"Did you defeat that witch yet?" Hiccup puffed out his cheeks and ran a hand through his hazel hair that matched Clarisse's.

"Not yet, but we've been training non-stop, and I think we're close to being ready." He explained. Stoick's left eyebrow shot up at the words 'close to.'

"Don't worry Stoick, Laufeia doesn't stand a chance against us!" Snotlout boasted. Clarisse couldn't help but notice Stoick tense up at the mention of the witch who threw his daughter off of a ship in the middle of the ocean. Yah, he told them everything. And Clarisse had to say, Laufeia was defiantly not on her friend-list.

Astrid spoke up "So you can call off the search parties, Tia Marina will keep us safe, not that we can't already protect ourselves-"

Clarisse cut Astrid off before she could start babbling. She knew the Viking didn't like it when she babbled. What? She can be nice.

"What she means is, we're fine, so don't worry." Clarisse said it in the calmest, most caring tone she could muster. Stoick sighed with both relief and pride for his children.

"Well then, knock 'em dead kids!" he encouraged with his lip curled up in an excited snarl. Clarisse giggled slightly at the sight of her birth-father being so supportive.

"We will dad, we'll see you soon." Hiccup said before the picture in the flame faded and the fire crackled and danced with images of Berk again.

"So, anyone else want a crack at it?" Tia asked. Clarisse exchanged a look with Hiccup, he shrugged and then she shrugged, making up her mind on who to summon.

"I'll take a swing at it." Clarisse volunteered. Honestly, she didn't really have anyone she needed to speak to. Tia was right next to her, and Hiccup just spoke to his dad, who to summon. But then she remembered Hiccup's mentor Gobber. Clarisse liked him, he was funny.

"Gobber the Belch." She said with a smirk at Hiccup's somewhat shocked expression. In mere seconds the one-handed, one-legged Viking black-smith appeared in the flames.

"Hey Gobber!" Hiccup chirped happily. Gobber jumped up in alarm, swinging his axe-hand like a crazy person.

"Who's there, come closer and I'll skin ya' alive!" he growled. His battle face was pretty funny looking, Tia even put a hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles.

"Gobber, it's Hiccup, are you at the forge?" he asked the black-smith. Gobber turned towards them, or rather, in the picture he did.

"Hiccup my boy, why are you and the other young 'uns in the furnace?" of course. They saw him in the fire, so he would them in the fire as well.

"Uh, well, it's uh…" Hiccup was having trouble trying to explain it to him.

"And who is that fetching lynx of a woman there with ya?" he made waves with his eyebrows at Tia, who, at the moment, was blushing madly and blinking her brown eyes shyly.

Clarisse shared an equally embarrassed and confused look. "Uh, Gobber this is Tia Marina. Tia Marina, Gobber." Hiccup introduced them, the awkward looks of the teens still present. Clarisse threw a glance at Astrid, who mouthed 'What?' at her. Clarisse just shrugged as if she knew nothing about it. Because she didn't.

"Well, I haven't seen a face like yours since I battled the wicked Sirens for my left pinky toe." Gobber explained with a wink in Tia's direction. Tia giggled at his, Clarisse guessed, compliment.

Tia returned the favor, "Why thank you, you're not to hideous yourself." She winked back. Clarisse and Hiccup just looked from Tia to Gobber with the most confused and comical expressions ever.

"Okay then, this idea went south fast." Clarisse whispered to her twin. He chuckled and nodded,

"Yah, I didn't think Gobber knew how to flirt." He said with a small smirk.

"If you'd call that flirting." Clarisse snickered in reply.

"Maybe whenever you're in Berk, we could grab a cup of mead, maybe chase off trolls in the moonlight?" Gobber said with another wave of his eyebrows.

"Oh for the love of… " Clarisse muttered, making Hiccup laugh a little.

"Oh I hate trolls, always so rude, taking left socks all the time. And why the left ones anyway?" Tia sat down by the fire, not hesitating to spark up a conversation.

"I know right! Trolls are so weird." Gobber replied, looking like a love-struck idiot.

"Indeed."

Clarisse was a bit surprised. Tia never flirted with anyone anymore. And she hadn't seen her aunt look so, happy, since, well… Since uncle Blue.

Hiccup saved her before she could burst out laughing. "Well uh, we'd best be going now. It was great to see you Gobber." He said, still feeling a bit awkward. But who wouldn't after that conversation.

"Great to see you young 'uns too, and fantastic to meet you Tia Marina." Gobber threw one more wink at Tia and she, making things weirder, blew him a kiss. The fire picture faded and everyone was left feeling pretty uncomfortable.

"Well, goodnight children, I'll see you all in the garden for training tomorrow." And with that Tia bid them good night and went back into the monastery. Everyone exchanged glances, daring each other to break the silence.

"That was…" Astrid started.

"Yah," Clarisse then burst out laughing. She held her stomach she was laughing so much. Hiccup and everyone else started laughing too like it was the funniest thing in the world. Eventually the laughing died down and had slowed to stifled giggles.

"We should get some sleep, we've got that convergence thing tomorrow." Astrid said with a smile, which was rare in Clarisse's case.

"I'm too tired to move, can't we just sleep out here or something? The fire's plenty warm, and if it goes out… I've got it covered." Clarisse replied, closing her eyes again and holding out her flaming hand.

"I second that." Hiccup agreed, putting his hands behind his head. Clarisse clenched her fist, extinguishing the small flame before leaning into the larger one, letting it keep her warm.

"Fine." Astrid grumbled, her shoulders slumped with defeat. She curled up to fall asleep with her head on Hiccup's shoulder and his arm around her protectively. Clarisse smiled at the notion, they were a cute couple. She wondered how they ended up together; she was obviously the shoot-first then asks questions type of girl. While he was the nervous, stuttering, not exactly wimp but not complete butt-kicker either. Not really the two to win the 'most likely to go out' award. But I guess that's how love worked. Weird and confusing.

Clarisse eased her mind and let the sound of the crackling fire lull her to sleep.

Clarisse blinked open her eyes. She could feel Spectrum's head in her lap so he must still be asleep. Her jade eyes took in her surroundings; stars littered the sky and a chilling wind blew past the now dying embers of the bon-fire. it was still the middle of the night, and surprisingly, no nightmare/warnings from Laufeia. That was especially odd.

"Hey," said a quiet and sleepy Hiccup.

"Hi, you still awake?" Clarisse replied tiredly, not wanting to rub the sleep from her eyes.

"Yah, you?" he replied, his arm still around Astrid's sleeping form. He probably wasn't moving because he didn't want to wake her.

"Mm-hm." Clarisse leaned her head back against the monastery column, giving a slight shiver from the cold breeze. Having enough of it, she lit her hand on fire and threw the most silent fire-ball she could at the pit. It caught instantly and within seconds, the cold was gone and the warmth of the flames had returned.

Clarisse smiled at the sleepy image of the dancing fire light. "That's better." She said to herself.

"So, do you know anything about this 'convergence' thing?" Hiccup asked, trying to spark up a conversation with his twin. Clarisse shrugged,

"Not much, I think it's like some sort of… twin mind meld or something like that." Clarisse replied, closing her eyes again, thus ending the conversation. But Hiccup didn't seem to take the hint.

"Clarisse," he began. "I know you miss your family, I mean, who wouldn't? but, I'm your twin, basically your birth-given best friend, and I want you to know that I'm here for you." Hiccup explained, getting on his supportive face. Clarisse looked him dead in the eye, her dragon eyes showing, but this time they were more caring and gentle.

"Thanks Hiccup, you're a good friend." She smiled at her twin, who gave his usually crooked smile back. Clarisse giggled slightly. Hiccup carefully took something out of his pocket, not wanting to wake Astrid. He tossed it over to Clarisse, who, thanks to her fast reflexes, caught it without a single thought. She pulled back her fingers to reveal a green lollipop wrapped in clear plastic.

"For the Nightmare Moon." Hiccup stated, giving a silent toast to the fallen ship and its crew. Clarisse smiled again,

"Green?" she asked him, more curious to why he chose green. Clarisse's favorite flavor was red. Hiccup shrugged again,

"Change is sometimes good, and who knows, maybe your mouth will be green from now on instead of red like a vampire." Hiccup made pretend fangs with his two index fingers, making Clarisse giggled again. She felt Spectrum stir a little and shift his position so he could wrap his wings around her like a blanket.

"Dork." Clarisse called her twin out, smiling to herself before curling up to fall asleep.

"Witch." Hiccup shot back with a caring smirk. Clarisse wasn't hurt by the comment, I mean, by now she practically was a witch. But a good witch. Like in that book, whatever it was called. Giving a final smile to herself and her twin, Clarisse drifted off to sleep again.


	23. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22 Convergence Part 1**

Astrid blinked open her eyes, remembering the teens all fell asleep by the bon-fire. her blue eyes fell on Clarisse's sleeping form, covering her mouth to stifle her laughing.

Clarisse was curled up next to Tuffnut with her head on his shoulder and his arm around her. She was gonna flip out when she woke up.

Clarisse woke up next to something warm. She knew it wasn't Spectrum because he didn't have skin, he had scales. She would have moved, but what she was curled up against was warm, and it was freezing outside where she was. The warm thing smelled horrible. Like salt, sweat, low-tide, and body odor all rolled into one. But living on the ocean with a dozen of foul smelling pirates can make your nose go numb to smells like that. Clarisse didn't mind, the bad smell reminded her of the Nightmare Moon, making her snuggle closer to it.

A tired groan woke her up more. It was defiantly male sounding and the warm thing shifted, and an arm wrapped itself around her shoulders. Clarisse groaned in realization, she was sleeping next to someone. And that groan sounded way too familiar. It sounded like… oh hell no!

Clarisse turned her head to get a look at the person. She winced as she saw those familiar blond dread-locks, and the person was revealed as none-other than Tuffnut Thorston. She just stared with an open mouth at him, at a loss for words. Too disgusted to say anything or even move. He eventually realized their position and that stupid grin spread across his face.

Clarisse snapped back to reality when he started leaning in closer to her. She pushed him back with a forceful shove and scrambled to her feet.

"No! Just, no!" she stuttered.

"What are you doing?" Tuffnut snapped, also getting to his feet. Clarisse gave him that famous 'are you out of your mind!' look.

"What am _I_ doing?!" she hissed back at him, clearly pissed off.

"You just tried to kiss me!" he replied, as if the answer was obvious if not completely not true.

Clarisse nearly killed him right there. "WHAT!" she shrieked, her jade eyes wild with rage.

"Yah, you just did it!" Tuffnut pointed at her then to himself to add emphasis.

"I did _not_ try to kiss _you_!" she shot back, pure venom in her voice. Tuff got caught up in the moment apparently and leaned in again,

"NO! Stop it."

Tuff put his hands up as if a gun was pointed at his head. "I wasn't-"

"You just did it again!" Clarisse snarled.

"You're the one who's making a move!" Tuffnut shouted back, trying to turn the tables on the argument.

"What?!" and that was it, Clarisse pounced and within seconds she was straddling his waist. She kept throwing punches at Tuffnut's stupid face. The others eventually figured out what was going on and managed to pull Clarisse off of Tuffnut before she killed him.

"Clarisse stop, what is going on?!" Hiccup said as he held back his twin's arms so she couldn't throw any more punches.

"Ow! I am hurt, I am very much hurt!" Tuffnut said while holding his bloody nose. Clarisse's dragon eyes were razor sharp and her lip curled up in a blood-thirsty snarl,

"You want to be hurt even more, Tuff-guy!?" she growled. She'd never been so angry with someone before. His arms were around her, and she actually liked it! And he was just so… urg! He was so annoying!

Tuff held his arms up to cover his face, as if that would protect him. "No! Mercy, please!" he begged. Clarisse gave him one final bark of rage before her dragon eyes faded and Hiccup let go of her arms. She gave Tuffnut one final growl of disgust and stomped off towards the garden, Spectrum following close behind, and her muttering angrily to herself the whole way.

"Clarisse and Tuffnut sitting in a tree…" Ruffnut mocked her brother. He shot her a glare but she ignored it. Hiccup himself couldn't help but snicker the slightest bit, the others joining in the humor of the situation.

"Lighten up Tuff, you'd make a cute couple." Hiccup heard himself say. Tuffnut glared at him too, but, for once, had on a thoughtful look. Like he was considering the possibility of Clarisse ever agreeing to go out with him.

"Plus, Tuff still has to ask out Clarisse." Snotlout added.

"When did this happen?' Astrid asked.

"In a race around the mountain yesterday, the loser dared Tuff to ask out Clarisse." Hiccup explained to her.

"And I lost, but I don't remember daring him." Fishlegs pointed out.

Tuff looked relieved at that, "Exactly, so I don't have to do it." He said while crossing his arms and holding his head up in a prideful manner.

Everyone gave Fishlegs expectant and pleading faces, Ruffnut even poked out her bottom lip in a puppy-dog expression. He sighed and said,

"Tuffnut, I dare you…" Tuff realized what he was doing and shot up,

"No way."

"To ask out…"

"Don't say it Fish!" Tuffnut warned.

"I dare you to ask out Clarisse!" and with that the deal was set. Tuffnut lowered his head and sighed while everyone else smiled victoriously. But in reality, Tuffnut was pretty happy about the dare.

At least now he had an excuse to save his butt if Clarisse rejected him, which was most likely to happen. She hated him, and to be honest, Tuff hated her too. He hated her attitude, and her twisted sense of humor, and her pretty hair, and her natural-born toughness, and the way her jade eyes sparkled every time she used her fire-powers or when she was flying, and… wait what? What was he talking about?! He didn't like-like Clarisse. Did he? No. No he did not! But he couldn't help but go back to earlier when he tried to make a move. That was so dumb, and not how he wanted it to happen. He wanted it to be romantic and classy, yet fiery and exciting. And especially not ending with a bloody nose.

Clarisse however, was steaming. What the heck was that about?! Why did Tuffnut have to be so infuriating? He totally tried to kiss her, again! If you'd even count what happened on the Solar Flare as a real kiss. Which she totally didn't. He was just so… so…

"URG!" she let out a scream of pure fury, scarring away the birds in the garden and causing them to fly away.

"Something bothering you Clarisse?" a Russian accent spoke out of nowhere. Clarisse turned to see Tia Marina in her training wear. Lots of leather, hood, boots, beads, and thigh-highs. She sighed and spoke to her mystic aunt softly,

"No, sorry to have disturbed you Tia." She apologized. The pale, red-headed witch walked up to Clarisse and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Tell me what troubles you child." She said gently.

"It's nothing just, Tuffnut makes me so mad sometimes!" Clarisse clenched her fists and growled, her hands heating up and threatening to catch fire. Tia sighed and patted out the flames with her fire-proof hands.

"Everyone has their different ways of showing affection, even if they're a bit unorthodox." She explained. Clarisse raised her eyebrow and crossed her arms,

"What do you mean, 'affection?'" she asked, curious on the subject. Tia Marina snorted a little, as if the answer was as clear as day.

"Isn't it obvious? I believe that boy fancies you, even if it's only slightly." Tia squinted her fingers together for emphasis. Clarisse felt her eyes widen and her jaw hit the floor.

"Are you being serious?" she asked as she erupted in sarcastic laughter, mocking Tia's observation. "There is no way, that _Tuffnut_ likes _me_. I nearly cut his leg off, beat up his dragon, and his first full sentence to me was 'I loathe you!'" Clarisse listed the reasons on her fingers, adding to the concept that it wasn't happening.

"I did feel a very strong romantic tension between you two when you first arrived." Tia added, a sly smile spreading across her marble features. Clarisse rolled her eyes,

"Trust me Tia, it's not happening."

"If you say so…" Tia Marina trailed off, letting the subject drop as the other teens showed up for training.

"So, Tia, what are we doing today?' Hiccup asked, though he already knew the answer.

Tia spoke in a soft yet serious tone. "Well, you and Clarisse will be conducting your first convergent bond today, while the rest of you are excused to do, whatever it is teenagers do, for the day."

"Yes!" the teens cheered excitedly at having a day off. The twins immediately mounted their dragon and flew off into the mountains to cause who knows what chaos. Snotlout just gripped his hammer and went off to the training court, and Fishlegs took out the book of dragons and scurried off to the monastery for some reading. Astrid however, stayed put.

"I- I'll just stay here, if that's okay." She said, taking a seat on a garden bench. Tia gave a firm nod in reply before herding Hiccup and Clarisse to face one another.

"Now I know you both know very little of the convergent spell, so allow me to explain," she began. "Convergence can only be done by twin siblings, they came into the world at the same moment, so their bond is deepest in mystic ways. And you two, hold a very strong convergent bond. You were born on an equinox, when day and night are at their absolute equals, you are most powerful then, so your convergent bond is stronger as a result. Now the convergent spell is the melding of two minds, one connects with the other on an emotional, mental, and spiritual level. They know each-others thoughts, fears, and memories. The process of two minds, becoming one." Tia instructed as she placed Hiccup's hands in Clarisse's, allowing them to connect in a physical form to conduct the spell.

"what does that mean?" Astrid asked out of the blue. Clarisse rolled her eyes,

"It means I'm going inside your boyfriend's head. I'm going to see his memories, and he'll see mine. Easy-peasy." Easier said than done, Clarisse thought.

"Now be very still," Tia instructed to the twins. "But also relaxed." Clarisse and Hiccup both took a deep breath and closed their eyes, Astrid watching intensively from her spot on the bench.

Clarisse felt a cold sensation spread through her hands and up her arms. It was freezing and only grew colder with each passing second. She cringed her nose as the cold laced its way to her neck and up through her throat like bile trying to escape the body.

"Don't fight it, let it flow." Tia ordered.

Clarisse could sense this same thing happening to Hiccup. And judging by how much his hands were shaking and sweating, he was getting the fire-treatment. And as for Clarisse: ice. Fantastic. But she did as the mystic said and didn't fight it, whatever it was, as it grew colder and spread faster. Clarisse took a deep breath trying to calm her heart-beat, her breath formed a small white blob of mist as she exhaled.

"It's not cold enough for that." Astrid observed. "What's going on Tia?" she demanded. Clarisse kept her eyes shut, not wanting to blow the spell to bits. And oddly enough, though she was pretty sure she was freezing to death, her heart-beat was at a calm, steady, relaxed pace. It wasn't racing blood throughout her body to keep her alive because she wasn't really dying. It was just the spell.

"You're not really dying Hiccup, it's just the spell. Relax." Clarisse told him. She could feel his hands burning up in her icy ones, it made sense. She was freezing to death, and he was overheating. Like someone got mad at him and tossed Hiccup into a lit oven. It was actually kind of relieving. His burning hands provided warmth from the cold that was engulfing Clarisse. As much as her freezing hands provided a cool relief so her twin didn't feel entirely like he was being burned alive.

"Why are their amulets glowing?" she heard Astrid ask. But it was strange. Her voice sounded muffled and static. Like she was only half-there and half-here. Clarisse didn't dare open her eyes, even though she could feel that one spark of warmth and power around her neck. The moon amulet.

The voices of Astrid and Tia Marina were fading fast. Every word they spoke became more distant and muttered.

All of a sudden, Clarisse couldn't feel her own presence in the garden anymore. She couldn't hear the exotic birds in the trees, couldn't see the sunlight peaking through her closed eyelids, and she sure as hell couldn't smell the cherry-blossom trees anymore. Out of instinct her eyes flew open, dragon eyes in full force. All around her was a black abyss.

"Hiccup!" she exclaimed as she un-gripped his scalding hands. His eyes bolted awake, taking in the dark nothingness and nearly freaking out.

"Well where the heck are we now?!" he shouted, his voice echoing into the darkness.

"You think I know?" Clarisse shot back at him. Hiccup puffed out his cheeks and sighed, Clarisse rolling her eyes in exasperation.

"So, I guess this is convergence." She said, breaking the tension.

Hiccup threw her a glance, "I thought we were going to see each-other's memories?" he pointed out. Clarisse just shrugged and did a few turnarounds in the dark pit. On the left there was nothing. Right: nothing. And nothing, nothing, and look! More nothing.

Clarisse sighed. "So, do you, like weather?" she said, kind of awkwardly. Hiccup threw her an arched eyebrow and was about to reply, when all of a sudden, the ground disappeared from under them.

The twins were free-falling. Honestly, Clarisse felt like screaming her lungs out, which she did do, along with her twin as they were falling. Wind whipped her pony-tail making it look like a hazel fire-ball, and her ears were numb from the roaring in them.

Hiccup and Clarisse silenced their screams long enough to exchange a glance,

"We're still falling?!" Clarisse yelled over to him.

"You think?!" he snapped back. They would have screamed even more, except they knew it wouldn't do anything. They were in each-other's minds; they couldn't die in the mind that's stupid.

Clarisse wore a bored expression for a few minutes before something below them came into view. Clarisse focused her mind on her draki side and her eyes did a zoom-in on the ground. Wait- the ground?!

Clarisse swore under her breath and prepared to roll when she landed so she would at least be on her feet.

When the ground came into view Clarisse could make out lush green grass, a pond and a few trees. It was rushing towards them faster and faster, but she was ready. The ground hit her like a sucker punch, but she managed to roll into a crouched position like a stalking cat. And landing perfectly on her two feet. Hiccup however, was not so lucky. He made the world's most painful belly-flop into the small pond, a loud splat! Ringing out into the forest.

"Ouch!" Clarisse winced. She composed herself and rushed to the water's edge to help Hiccup out of the pond. He surfaced with the most comical and pain-filled expression she'd ever seen on him. She tried her best to hold back her laughter as he took Clarisse's hand and she hoisted him out of the water. Once he was on the grass and on his two (sort-of) feet, Clarisse took in her surroundings. Where the twins were seemed so real; lush green grass, plentiful trees, and a crystal blue lake in the center. The place looked like a giant bowl-shaped cove.

"Hey, I know this place!" Hiccup exclaimed, a look of familiarity and realizations on his face as he looked around the cove fondly.

Clarisse tore her jade eyes away from the beautiful scenery to throw her twin some of her famous sarcasm. "Care to elaborate?" she asked arching her eyebrow and cocking her hip to the side. He was about to answer her, when another voice spoke up, sounding a greater distance away.

"Someone's coming!" Hiccup said, getting nervous.

Clarisse rolled her eyes. "It's a memory genius, no one can see us except each-other." She explained. Hiccup froze, that look of realization returning to his face that matched her own.

"Ooh." He said.

"Ooh, yah" Clarisse in a mocking tone. Hiccup gave her a glare and she smirked. The twins ceased their bickering to see someone walking through, scribbling in a notebook and looking very familiar.

"Well this was stupid!" the boy said bitterly, slamming his book shut and groaning. Clarisse finally recognized him. She had to say, he was a scrawny little toothpick! Forest green tunic, brown pants, brown fur vest and matching boots. More importantly, two legs.

"Is that… you?" Clarisse snickered. Hiccup seemed at a loss for words, and who wouldn't be upon seeing themselves in the past. Past Hiccup then looked up with a somewhat surprised and intrigued look. He was looking right at them! Or rather, through them. Past Hiccup took a few steps forward before crouching down to pick something up. Clarisse and current Hiccup backed up, even though this guy couldn't see, hear, or touch them. Past Hiccup picked up what looked like a few of Toothless' scales, he examined them before a shrill dragon cry rang out in the cove. Clarisse and Hiccup jumped back in surprise at the sound. Past Hiccup just stared in awe as past Toothless scrambled about the cove, scratching at rock walls and trying to get out. He tried to take off but for some reason couldn't. The night fury tried this a few more times before roaring in frustration.

"Why don't you just fly away?" she heard past Hiccup ask himself. Clarisse turned back to him to see that he was scribbling in his notebook again. She shrugged and walked over to see what he was writing, or rather, drawing. He'd drawn a birds-eye view of the night fury, but something was off. Clarisse knew that Toothless wore a prosthetic tail-fin; it was red with that skull design that was also on Hiccup's shoulder plate. She looked back up at past Toothless; he plunged his head into the pond, came back up with nothing, and shot a fire-ball at the ground in frustration.

Clarisse saw Hiccup smile to himself. Of course! She thought, this is how they met. The faint clink of wood on rock got her attention again. Clarisse and present Hiccup turned to see that past Hiccup had dropped his pencil and gotten past Toothless' attention. They just looked at each other, one with fear, and the other with a sense of curiosity. Past Toothless cocked his head inquisitively as past Hiccup drew back his hand that was outstretched from making a mad-dash for his falling pencil.

They just stayed that way for a few minutes, locked in eye contact waiting for someone to do something. But nothing ever happened. The night fury didn't attack, and past Hiccup didn't scream like a little girl. Everything was just so… calm. Clarisse turned to her twin, he was smiling, and she felt the slightest smile peaking on her own face.

And as soon as the memory began, it was ripped from their sight in a matter of seconds. Hiccup and Clarisse were in the cove where he'd first met Toothless one minute, and the next they were somewhere completely different. Hiccup could see a stage, which meant they were defiantly indoors. Clarisse kept looking around the room with a smile on her face as if she'd never been happier to be there.

"Clarisse?" Hiccup heard himself asking. His twin turned to him,

"I can't believe it! I never thought I'd see this place again!" she squealed happily.

"Where are we, exactly?" he asked her. She simply smiled again and grabbed his wrist, pulling him along.

"Just come on!" she ordered. Hiccup stared up in awe at the beauty of the building they were in. The interior of the building so vast and was filled with so much color and life it was hard not to smile at it all. The walls were soft and lined with red velvet, and the floors a gold tile with mosaic designs of dragons and other majestic creatures. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling and tons of other fancy décor and details throughout the building. Though the place seemed so beautiful and lively, it was almost deserted. Hiccup caught sight of a sign painted with fancy blue and gold letters that read:

"Blue Marina's Paradise Theater?" Hiccup read aloud. Now that he really was observing the place, it looked like one of those dance houses he heard about somewhere. A dance house was always run by gypsies, they would roll in lots of money by putting on shows for the public. Mostly music or dancing or big festivals.

Clarisse threw open a large set of double doors and herded Hiccup into another large room. This one with hard wood floors, white walls, large cathedral-style windows that poured light into the huge room, and the entire south wall was a huge mirror. A wooden bar lining the place like that in a dance studio.

The studio was filled with young people, all around fifteen or sixteen years old. A few boys, mostly girls, all being instructed by a man who looked like a mafia gangster. He had greased back black hair and a thin mustache across his upper lip. He sported black leather trousers and a white pirate blouse with the three top loops unlaced. With black pirate boots and a pistol and dagger on his belt.

"That's my uncle, Blue." Clarisse pointed out to him. Hiccup arched an eyebrow at the man 'Blue.' He didn't look like the most trustworthy uncle in the universe.

"Blue!" spoke a gentle female voice. Hiccup turned to see a pale woman with jet black hair and soft brown eyes. Blue grinned happily and walked over to her with open arms.

"Marie! Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" Blue replied while gathering the woman Marie in a hug. When they pulled away Marie spoke again,

"It's been too long Blue, how are you?" she asked him. Blue grinned and turned to the dancers in the studio,

"Keep it up you guys! Good work." And with that he and Marie walked out of the studio and began a more serious conversation. Hiccup and Clarisse following close behind.

"Marie, how have you been? Hope you don't mind me asking but, what brings you by?" Marie sighed but then smiled again and turned away from him for a moment.

She called out, "Baby? Can you come here please?" her melodic voice rang throughout the theater, grabbing the attention of a teen girl examining the stage. Hiccup turned his head to see Clarisse with a warm smile, this was obviously a good memory for her. He then saw a teen girl around fifteen with hazel brown hair and green eyes. The girl wore brown leather boots, grey hunting pants, and a coppery red armor skirt. With a bow and quiver slung over her shoulder as well. She had on a shirt that looked like it was made of black dragon scales, with a copper belt around her torso that matched the skirt. Her outfit included black transparent sleeves, brown fingerless gloves, and carved wood gauntlets. Including a wolf-skin hood across her shoulders, and her brown curls piled into a high pony-tail on her head. And then that shimmering crescent moon around her neck. Clarisse.

"Blue, this is my daughter, Clarisse. Clarisse, this is your uncle Blue." Marie introduced them. Past Clarisse and Blue shook hands and he smiled as warmly as he could. Once Blue touched past Clarisse's hand he tensed up, now looking deep into her jade orbs and seeing it. He saw her sharpened pupils and the fire within them.

"Is she…?" Marie nodded quickly, trying to avoid the word as much as possible. Blue took in a deep breath, looking at past Clarisse once more with that oh-so trustworthy grin.

"We were hoping that you and Marina could provide her with some, proper training." Marie explained. Blue nodded and grasped the young girl's hands again.

"Mom?" past Clarisse finally spoke up. "What's going on? Why are we here?" Hiccup just stared at the past version of his twin. She looked like Clarisse, sounded like Clarisse, but she didn't talk, or act like the Clarisse he knew now. This girl was shy and frail, yet curious and determined at the same time. Maybe this was the way she was before she became a fully fledged draki.

"Baby, we're here because you are special, you have very rare abilities that most people don't. And your uncle and aunt are going to teach you to master it and control it. You'll have to trust me on this, okay?" Marie said as she wrapped her arms around her daughter's shoulders comfortingly. Past Clarisse put on her thinking face for a few moments before answering,

"Okay." She smiled at her uncle and her mother hugged her again.

"Trust me Babydoll, you'll love this place." Blue said as he put and arm around past Clarisse's shoulders and led her through the theater. Marie hugged her daughter again before planting a kiss on her forehead,

"I'll see you soon okay?" she said as Marie began to leave. Past Clarisse smiled and nodded before following Blue.

"I'll set you up as a dancer for your free time away from Marina, alright?" Clarisse smiled at her uncle and he gave a gentle laugh.

Hiccup smiled at the scene, guess this was how Clarisse and Tia Marina met. Their voices all became muffled and their figures began to blur and fade.

"I guess we're waking up." He heard Clarisse say. The ground then disappeared from beneath them again and they were freefalling. No scream escaped this time, which was not normal. Then again, was any of this?

"So, you were a dancer?" Hiccup decided to ask. He kind of had to yell over the wind roaring in his ears, but Clarisse heard him okay.

"Yah! And you were a… well, there's really no other way for me to say this… you were a hiccup!" she laughed back at him, earning her a playful glare from Hiccup. Clarisse rolled her eyes at her twin, looking down and wincing nervously. Hiccup followed her gaze and flinched slightly at the sight of the ground speeding towards them like a bullet.

"Oh, this is gonna hurt!" he heard Clarisse think out loud. They both hit the ground with a painful thud, groaning painfully and trying to stand without falling again.

"Are you guys okay?" Hiccup heard Astrid ask them.

"Peachy." Clarisse grunted. Hiccup looked around; they were back in reality, and had survived their first convergent session.

"Congrats you two, you survived your first convergence!" Tia Marina said cheerfully while clasping her hands together with a smile.

"First?" Clarisse asked with an arched eyebrow.

Tia giggled, "Of course, you didn't think you'd create a bond strong enough to defeat Laufeia after _one_ memory did you?" Hiccup exchanged a questioning look with his twin. She simply shrugged as if she kind of expected the same thing.

"I kind of did." She finally answered.

Hiccup turned back to Tia, "Well, how strong does the bond have to be?" Tia's look turned somewhat serious when he asked that.

"For you two defeat Laufeia and seal her away for another thousand years, your bond would need to be so strong that nothing could drive you apart. You'd know each-other inside and out; their thoughts, their memories, even their worst fears. You would know everything about them, and understand them enough to know how the other works and thinks." She explained.

"And then we're supposed to save the world?" Clarisse spoke up, her arms crossed and her hip cocked to the side. Tia nodded once, and the point was understood.

"This will take some time, but hopefully not too long. A few days at most, but as the sessions progress, the memories will become more vivid and realistic, almost as if you're living through them again. Astrid will have to watch you both while you're in the mind state while I train the others though." Tia added, putting on her thinking face.

"Cool, I've already mastered my element so that won't be a problem." Astrid nodded.

"I hope riding and sleeping is on that schedule." Hiccup heard Clarisse say with a hint of sarcasm.

Tia giggled slightly, "Of course. Your dragons will be needed for the final battle." The three teens nodded firmly, somewhat glad that they would have their dragon friends fighting beside them when the final battle finally came.

"For the time being, you've had a long day. Get some sleep and be here the same time tomorrow." And with that Tia walked off, Zephryna's colossal form following close behind her before flying off into the mountains for the night. Hiccup hadn't noticed until now, but it was well past sun-down and the sky started to morph into its midnight blue color. He shuddered a little; he didn't really feel all too great about Clarisse living through his memories. But he got that the convergent session would begin with him first meeting Toothless, and Clarisse beginning her draki training with Tia. They were both the moments their lives changed forever. Clarisse became a Dragon's blood, and Hiccup became the Dragon Trainer of Berk. But tomorrow, they would start from the very beginning…


	24. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23****the Truth that brought the Dare**

The rhythm of "Sweet Dreams are made of This" rang out from the guitar as Clarisse absentmindedly played each chord and note on her father's guitar. She hummed the melody in her room while Spectrum amused himself with his tail. She laughed slightly at his antics; he meant so much to her, he was like her brother. That banshee was the world to Clarisse and she never forgot it. They watched each other's backs, looked out for one another. Spectrum was her rock and she didn't know what she'd ever do without him. He lifted his scaly green horse head and creaked softly at her, getting up and pressing his nose into Clarisse's hand. She took the hint and rubbed his nose, looking into those sea green eyes that she'd known forever. Spectrum took a few tufts of her hair in his teeth and gnawed on them playfully. Clarisse giggled and shoved him away when he tugged on her hazel locks. He croaked jovially and flicked her in the face with his tail before lying down again. She rolled her eyes lovingly and blew some of her choppy bangs that usually were engulfed by the rest of her hair out of her face and went back to strumming her guitar and humming Annie Lennox songs.

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

Clarisse silenced her strums and Spectrum looked up from his tail and growled slightly, and she knew why. Clarisse knew that smell anywhere; low-tide and B.O. which only meant one person. She growled to herself and went to open her door.

"Come on man, you can do this." Tuffnut muttered to himself. He was standing outside of Clarisse's door trying to work up the guts to take the dare and ask her out. He had to admit he was nervous, he'd never been on a date before let alone asked a girl out on one! And what if Clarisse said no? What if she hurt him physically? Or worse! What if she hurt him with _words?_ But he couldn't just chicken out now. He sucked in a breath, puffed out his chest, and knocked on the door three times.

At first nothing happened, but then Tuffnut heard footsteps approaching the door. The oak carved door opened to reveal Clarisse with her choppy hair loose around her shoulders and her eyebrow arched in what looked like a triangle with no bottom line. She pupils were thinned to a point and her stance said 'what do you want?' making Tuffnut cower a little bit in the girl's presence. Only a little.

"What?" she asked coldly. Tuffnut bristled slightly at her, well, dragonish tone. She'd asked him a question. Well, don't just stand there you mutton-head, say something! Wait! What did Hiccup tell him about girls again? Something about manners and other useless garbage like that. He'd never cared about that stuff before, probably because he'd never liked a girl before. And Clarisse was so pretty, confident, and unpredictable. What was he supposed to say?! All the jumbled up thoughts in his head made him feel frustrated and he suddenly felt like punching something, but he kept his cool in front of her.

"Well?" she asked again, this time with her arms crossed, her hip cocked to the side, and her eyebrow arched into that little bottomless triangle.

"I… just wanted to tell you…" Tuffnut was having trouble with his words. He scratched the back of his head and avoided Clarisse's dragon stare as much as he could.

"Tell me what?" she added, now sounding more intrigued than annoyed.

Tuff coughed into his hand to clear his throat. "I wanted to tell you that… I'm sorry. For what happened this morning."

He flinched and took a step back; hoping that the punch to the face that Clarisse would most likely give him wouldn't be too painful. But instead he just saw her eyes widen a little bit, but only for a second before they went back to cold and deadly.

"You're sorry?" she said as if the thought of him apologizing was impossible. Tuffnut felt himself nod nervously, which he'd never done before so it felt weird. Clarisse raised her eyebrow again, so he added,

"And I was just wondering if I could, maybe, ask you out?" Tuffnut froze in his boots for a second. What would she do now? Would she hit him? Oh Thor, she was going to hit him! Instead she just raised her hand to her face,

"Not the face!" Tuffnut squealed in fear as his arms lifted to his face to defend himself. Clarisse just gave him a look like he was crazy, her hand frozen half-way to her face. She lifted it the rest of the way and brushed a lock of her hazel hair behind her ear, the firelight of the lit torches giving her hair a coppery shine to it.

"So," Clarisse continued, ignoring the awkwardness of Tuffnut cowering like a little girl. "You mean, like a date." It wasn't a question. Clarisse had that wild look of fury boiling up in her gaze, but at the same time, amusement. Tuffnut began to take another step back, but Clarisse gave him a look he couldn't explain so he just stayed put.

"Um, yes?" he replied, not wanting to test her anger that he knew could explode in his face at a moment's notice.

Clarisse had a thoughtful look for a moment. She leaning against her doorway nonchalantly with her arms crossed again. She looked back up at him, her dragon gaze faded and her jade orbs looking directly into his pale blue ones. Reading his every move like a battle strategy. He leaned back the slightest. Tuffnut knew how well this girl could read people like an open book. Plot their every move and dodge it perfectly like she was making them do it, like some sort of very attractive puppet master.

After what seemed like forever, she answered him. "What would we even do?" she asked. Tuffnut let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Was she saying yes? He didn't know whether to laugh, run away, or pass out right at her feet. Tuffnut then remembered she'd asked him a question.

"Uh, well, maybe we could race the dragons? Maybe a romantic fight in the courtyard. I punch you, you kick me. That sort of thing." He could feel his Viking mojo flowing through him again. Which would probably explain his normal 'charming' demeanor returning. Clarisse's signature smirk spread across her slightly red tinted lips. Gods how that smirk was attractive!

"Sounds romantic." She said with a slight chuckle, obvious sarcasm in her voice. Tuffnut chuckled nervously; oh gods, he was starting to sound like Hiccup. Thor help us all.

"So, is that a yes?" he heard himself ask, not filtering what was happening at the moment.

Clarisse shrugged. "Why not, I could enjoy punching the snot out of you." She smirked again, earning a proud grin from Tuff.

"You bet you will. I'll see you later." And with that she gave him the famous crooked Hiccup smile, which in Tuff's opinion looked _way_ cuter on her, before closing her bedroom door. He felt a grin that would put the Cheshire cat to shame spread across his face. He had a date, with Clarisse Merrill! Be that she was probably going to beat him up but still!

"WHOO-HOO!" he whooped for joy, quickly slapping a hand over his mouth and feeling his face heat up a bit. Dang it! Clarisse defiantly would have heard that. Tuffnut panicked and scurried down the hall to his room as fast as he could run on two feet. He slammed the door, his breath caught in his throat as he slid down the door onto the floor with a dreamy smile.

Clarisse was laughing to herself slightly. Tuffnut just asked her out. And, more surprisingly, she said yes! Why did she do that again? Oh yah, she wanted the rare chance to punch the snot out of him. Just that. Just the chance to beat him up. Yep. She approached Spectrum when she heard him whoop happily on the other side of the door. She turned back to it, but then laughed again. She flopped down next to Spectrum on the floor, looking up at him as he curled his tail around her in a brotherly manner.

"What have I gotten myself into now boy?" she asked him with a jovial grin. He creaked slyly as if she already knew the answer. She scrunched up her nose and gave him a look.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm only doing it to punch him in the face." She'd said it to convince herself rather than her dragon. He purred with a sort of dragon laugh as if to say 'if you say so' before laying his head down to go to sleep. Clarisse rolled her eyes and got to her feet, grabbing a book off her desk before walking to her bed.

"You're impossible." She told her dragon lovingly before climbing into bed with her book. It was one of her favorites, "House of Darkness. House of Light." It was based on a true story which made her love it even more, and she hadn't even read it yet! She smiled to herself as she flipped to the first page and read herself to sleep.


	25. Chapter 24

**Part 3: Convergence**

**Chapter 24 the case of the Ancient Spell Book or whatever**

One night. That's all Hiccup wanted, one night of a peaceful night's sleep with no foretelling, no visions, and no threats from Laufeia! Is that too much to ask?! For Solaris, apparently, it is.

Hiccup hadn't spoken to the sun king in a while, he'd said he had 'stuff' to do. Whatever that meant. He decided against asking him about it out of fear of what it was. Whatever had the solar king silent, he didn't want to know.

He remembered the dream more clearly than ever. Most of his dreams would fade as soon as he woke up, being erased entirely from memory by the end of the day. But this was not the case as Hiccup felt his own presence in a dark room. The gorgeous details in the walls, floors, and décor told him he was in the royal siblings' palace. Though this place wasn't like the great room with the chariots and the statue of Odin. No, this place was more of a library. The place shaped like a giant cylinder, kind of like Tia Marina's dragon room. But instead of dragon bottles covering the walls head to toe, there were books. And a staircase lining the walls in a giant spiral. Hiccup felt his breath caught in his throat at the sheer awe of the place. He chuckled at the thought of how Fishlegs would react upon seeing this place. He shrugged to himself and began to walk down the stairs, not at all sure of why he was here or what he was supposed to be looking for.

He'd descended the staircase for about five minutes, still having no clue as to what he was supposed to be doing down here. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he could still see many books, but at least now he was on solid ground. The only light was from the torch on the wall, set in a clear part of the wall as not to catch any books and set the palace ablaze. Hiccup grabbed it off the wall and shone it around the ground level of the library.

"Books, books. And look! More books." He said to himself, unimpressed. More questions began to zip through his mind, like: what in Thor's name am I doing here? Or, why aren't Clarisse or Astrid here? And, what the heck is that?!

The source of his slight panic was a certain book on the shelf that was glowing and vibrating like one of Tia's ripe dragon bottles.

Hiccup approached the book with extra precaution, not sure why he was doing it. But he felt like the book was very important, so he grabbed it swiftly off the shelf. At his touch, the book silenced itself and returned to looking like a normal book again. But the thing was, he knew this book. Old leather cover, pages cracked and yellow with age, and that all too familiar crest of the moon circling the sun.

This was the book he and Clarisse found in Tia Marina's piano.

Hiccup strictly remembered the book was in his twin's possession, sitting untouched at her desk, the cover never deciphered and the words still misunderstood. But that same book was in his hands as we speak. He sucked in a breath and blew the dust off the cover, the crest shining gold and silver in the firelight.

Hiccup puffed out his cheeks nervously, not sure what he was so afraid would be within the book, but none the less, he opened it.

This was impossible!

He'd seen the inside of this book, and it sure as Helheim didn't look like this. Each page was covered splint to spleen with a foreign language even Clarisse didn't understand, along with unreadable charts and picture that held no meaning to anyone of his friends. But now, as he skimmed through the ancient pages, he could read it clear as day! Everything was like it was finally where it should have been; every word he could read with perfection, every chart, graph, and picture he could understand and interpret as if he'd read it a bazillion times! He stopped on one particular page. The picture seemed so familiar, but he couldn't place where he'd seen it before.

It depicted what looked like two people, both riding dragons and wearing what looked like some sort of armor. It was a man and a woman, but the woman looked more bruised, battered, and bleeding than the man did. But Hiccup had his eyes fixed on what dragons the picture made to look like the two were riding. One he recognized instantly; disk-shaped head, bat-like wings, and jet-black in color. A Night Fury. The other took him a bit by surprise. It looked just like the Night Fury the man was riding, but this one was… white? That made no sense! The white night fury looked slightly smaller than the black one, with a more tranquil flight stance and slightly thinner ear flaps. But it had the same disk-shaped head, bat-like wings, and it was as white as the aged paper would allow.

Hiccup quickly examined the rest of the picture, promising to go back to the White Night Fury later. The man and woman were riding dragons and wearing armor, but they were flying around what looked like a pitch black Red Death. But this dragon looked more like Zephryna. Same serpentine neck, same horse-like head, and massive in size. Except, this beast was darker than a Night Fury, and much more sinister looking, with two red eyes that seemed to be glowing with dark magic on the very page. Though the eyes seemed to look through him and into his soul, sapping his courage and corrupting his judgment, Hiccup couldn't pull his eyes away. He felt compelled as if he was a dragon being controlled by the Red Death those three years ago.

He snapped his gaze away from those unsettling eyes, flipping to the next page. Now this one had his full attention.

"Spells and Casts of the Prophecy of Dragons." He read aloud. Was that what this whole thing was known as? The Prophecy of Dragons? It made total sense, and at the same time no sense whatsoever! Then again, Hiccup _was_ known as the Dragon Trainer, and Clarisse _was_ technically part dragon. Either that was planned out in this prophecy, or it was some kind of insane coincidence.

Yah, right.

He skimmed down the page listing the spells and casts.

Sleeping curse, no.

Anti-itch incantation, defiantly not.

Fix and Repair cast… bookmarked.

Urg! Nothing was what he was looking for! Or at least, what he thought he was supposed to be looking for. Hiccup scanned the words carefully, until his emerald gaze froze on three simple sentences.

Barrier Spell. Evaporation Exorcism. Banishment Cast.

Hiccup had no idea how or why, but he knew that this was exactly what he was here to find. He quickly memorized the words about spells and whatnot and quickly put the book back where he'd found it. As quickly as his foot would carry him, Hiccup raced up the endless stairs, reaching the door in a manner of seconds and slamming it behind him.

_"Now now Hiccup, it isn't nice to take other people's things."_ scolded a very unsettling voice behind him. Hiccup froze in his tracks, turning slowly to see the familiar face of Laufeia staring back at him with those sickly white and bloodshot eyes.

"What do you want?" he growled, surprising himself more than her. She just kept that demonically calm face as she spoke softly yet with a threatening edge to it.

_"Choose your questions carefully boy, what you held in your hands moments ago is the only thing that can put me to rest, and believe me, I'm just _shaking_ in my boots. But be warned, it also holds valuable information to me and my army."_ Her evil grin spread across her blood red mouth. _"So I'd be careful if I were you, especially around that book. It might just be your… down-fall, so to speak."_ And with a malevolent chuckle she dissipated into a cloud of black mist, fading from Hiccup's sight.

It might just be your downfall.

Hiccup had a bad feeling that she didn't mean that figuratively. With a few blinks of his eyes, Hiccup was awoken by the sound of Toothless shaking him awake frantically.

Hiccup darted awake instantly, "Toothless? What's wrong? Why were you shaking me?" he stammered as he quickly climbed out of bed. His night fury was jumping around frantically, a worried and fearful expression in his forest green cat eyes.

As soon as he'd asked, the sound of explosions and shouting was heard from outside. Hiccup quickly pulled on his armor and he and Toothless exited his room with post haste. The other teens were frantically running through the halls to get outside. Without thinking, Hiccup pulled Clarisse aside,

"What's going on?" he asked her. She tugged her arm free of his grasp, as if made uncomfortable by him touching her.

"We've got action outside, three wolves, two gators, five dragonbats, and some kind of freakish hybrid of them all." She explained. Hybrid? That made no sense. They'd only dealt with wolves, gators, and dragonbats, but never had they been attacked by hybrids. It made absolutely no sense! But, then again, did any of this?

"Where are they?" he heard himself ask his twin. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him along until they were outside. He felt his eyes widen when he saw the miniature army advancing on the monastery. And the hybrid Clarisse was talking about made him sick to the stomach to look at. Wolf-like bodies with dark green, roughly scaled snouts with row after row of dagger-like teeth and fangs permanently curled into a blood-thirsty snarl. They also had the leathery bat-like wings of the dragonsbats sprouting from their ugly backs. There were about a dozen of them. Fantastic.

Hiccup scrunched up his nose in disgust.

"I know right! It's gross." Clarisse told him, catching his grossed-out expression. He caught her smirk as she unsheathed Sucker Punch, - her beloved katana sword - mounted Spectrum as he came up behind her, and growled towards the demons and hybrid-monsters.

"You coming?" she asked, softening her dragon eyes for a moment. Hiccup pulled out Inferno and settled in Toothless' saddle, giving his twin a firm nod in reply.

"Someone has to keep you out of trouble." He smirked playfully despite his nervous mood. Clarisse smiled in return before spurring her dragon and taking off like a rainbow bullet, Hiccup and Toothless following suit. He quickly clicked on the button on the hilt of his sword and in seconds the blade was a bright streak of fire in the dark of the night.

Now that the riders had a bird's-eye view of the situation, Hiccup knew Clarisse had been right. He sent the twins to deal with the wolves and gators, while Fishlegs and Snotlout took care of the dragonsbats, much to Fish's dismay, and Astrid, Clarisse, and himself would deal with the hybrids while Tia Marina and Zephryna defended the monastery. Good, they had a plan, now time to put it in motion and hope not to get shot. This thought passed through Hiccup's mind as he glanced at Clarisse, who was holding onto what looked like her Gatling gun. Well that was emasculating. One hybrid was about a foot away from the three of them, it let out an ear-splitting roar, causing Hiccup to push his hands against his ears in an attempt to block out the sound.

A moment passed before he heard Clarisse give a roar of her own as she switched on the Gatling gun and open fired on the demon with an echoing _Blrrrrrrrrred!_ sound.

"Take that you ugly demon-hybrid… things!" Clarisse shouted over the sound of her own gunfire. She hit and downed about ten hybrids before running out of bullets and dropping her now empty Gatling gun out of the air and onto the ground. Which, conveniently, hit a werewolf in the back in the process, destroying the wolf and making it disappear like dust in the wind.

"Nice work Baby!" Astrid called to his twin. She gave a nod along with her clever smirk before unsheathing her katana again. Hiccup approached the tail of a flying hybrid. At the last minute it turned it's ugly face to look at him before he slashed his flaming sword through its torso. It broke apart like glass and disappeared like all demons did when they died.

To be honest, Hiccup felt kind of guilty when the demons first attacked and he had to kill some of them. But to make him feel better, Tia had said that every demon was a tortured soul, its mind twisted and corrupted into the most wicked people on the planet. Demons were people once in their miserable lives, but when they died they had escaped judgment, causing their soul to rot into a demonic form. So he shouldn't feel bad about killing them, they were already dead.

"Spiked! Watch where you're going!" shouted Clarisse's angry bark. Hiccup looked up and saw that he almost cut her down with Toothless zipping through the air like a lightning bolt.

"Sorry!" he called back to her before slashing through another hybrid. That was the last of the mutated demons.

"That makes twelve, we're clear here, now let's get back to- Whoa!" Astrid yelped as she sharply steered Stormfly away from a thirteenth hybrid demon. It had larger wings than the rest and had a shark's head instead of a wolf snout. Twice the jaw power.

"Looks like we've got a baker's dozen. I got this!" Clarisse shouted to them before spurring Spectrum and zooming after the shark-demon. Hiccup took off after her out of sibling-protection-mentality, not wanting his sister to get hurt.

"Come on bud, let's make sure she doesn't get herself killed." Hiccup said to Toothless as they flew after Clarisse. He had to admit, for a Tidal class dragon in the air, Spectrum was pretty fast. But he knew that the banshee was faster in the water than Toothless was in the air, if that was even possible. But there was no water around at the moment so he assumed Clarisse went with the more appropriate mode of transportation.

Hiccup eventually caught sight of his twin as she chased after the shark demon shouting an array of words and insults that he cared not to say out loud. He was about to steer Toothless towards them, but a black mass of smoke sped by his line of vision.

"Huh?" he said aloud. He spotted the black shadow heading down towards the garden. The one where he and Clarisse performed their convergence sessions.

His curiosity overcoming him, like always, Hiccup and Toothless flew down into the garden, careful not to fly into any trees. Toothless touched down in front of a shadowy grove of cherry blossom trees. Maybe a little bit too shadowy.

Hiccup dismounted his dragon friend and slowly approached the grove.

"Is anybody there?" he called. He honestly didn't think anyone would answer, but it was worth a shot right? Toothless however wasn't looking so brave. He kept fidgeting and was looking rather jumpy, even for him.

"You okay bud?" Hiccup asked. The night fury kept thwacking his tail on the ground in anticipation, as if warning his human friend that they should leave. Now.

As soon as Hiccup had made the decision to get the heck out of this grove, the shadow figure flashed by him again. But this time in about six huge tendrils of thick black smoke. Toothless roared defensively at the mass of darkness forming from the shadow arms.

A very feminine laugh sounded from the mass. Not like Laufeia's demonic cackle, no, this was more like an amused teenage girl who just saw her dog chase his tail for three hours. Like this whole thing was some hilarious joke.

"Honestly, night furies have no sense of humor!" a chaotically amused voice sounded from the mass.

"Who's there?" Hiccup demanded. He sounded braver than he felt. He actually felt like dropping his sword and running for his life, but something new sparked inside him, like he had to stay and fight. Maybe it was Solaris?

"Loving the new tough guy act Hiccup." Said the voice again. At that moment, the shadows suddenly vanished as if they were never there. They just… poof, and there in their place was a woman. She had coffee brown skin, snow white hair, and two unsettling yellow eyes with two thin black lines for pupils.

"Who the heck are you? Because, to be frank, I've kind of had my hands full with ancient villains lately." Hiccup snapped, his sword arm dropping to his side to complete his sarcastic comeback. The woman only erupted in that chaotic laughter again, snorting and cackling like a lunatic.

"That's funny! Ancient villains! No, no Hiccup, I'm not a villain. More of a spirit really, allow me to introduce myself-" her shadowy purple dress moved and shifted like smoke whenever she talked. Her arms extended and very Red Death-like wings grew out from her hands and arms, and twisted goat horns grew from her head. Her sick eye turned to blank yellow orbs, and a forked tongue slid out from her sickly red mouth. Making her look a lot more terrifying then when she was all bubbly and laughing.

"Eris, spirit of chaos. Sister of darkness, and daughter of evil." She said in a multi-voiced tone.

"So, what? You're here because the monks don't capture your likeness on the temple walls?" Hiccup heard himself say.

Eris laughed again, her wings, horns, and tongue disappearing and her thin pupils returning. "You're so funny! Mistress said you were the sarcastic one."

Toothless growled protectively at Eris, threatening to shoot a plasma blast at her. But she simply flicked her hand to the side with a bored expression, and Toothless froze in his claws, falling to the ground with a loud _clink!_

"Toothless!" Hiccup shouted, rushing to his best friend's side. The night fury was completely frozen in place, even his plasma was frozen in mid-blast.

"What did you do to him?!" He shouted at the chaos spirit.

Eris scoffed "Oh relax, a simple freeze-tag cast he'll be right as rain in a few hours, which gives us the time to talk." Eris lifted her hand again, this time a devilish look in her eye that said she meant business.

She twisted her hand up, taking Hiccup with it. He was hoisted into the air by his neck, dangling at the hands of an invisible attacker.

"Listen to my words carefully." She spat at him. "You're unwise to attempt convergence boy, Laufeia is planning something big. And your hope that you'll pull through in the end and save the day is in vain." Hiccup had trouble breathing, he tried to claw at the hands that held him but there was nothing to fight. It was Eris' dark magic.

She tilted her head like a curious cat. "Tell me Hiccup, how close do you think you and your sister actually are?" she curled her fingers and Hiccup's dangling body was pulled closer to her so he could smell the metallic scent of blood on her breath.

What happened next he could hardly stomach. Eris' eyes began to glow a sickly yellow color, and black vine-like patterns appeared on her face, traveling to her head and spreading to her arms. She grabbed Hiccup by his neck and the black vines wound their way into him!

Once they reached his eyes he was completely swallowed by darkness, the sound of that scream echoing in his mind.

His eyes flew open, taking in the foggy scene being exposed to his currently sensitive eyes. He was in a place that looked like his dream from before; the palace of the royal siblings. Except, it seemed… newer, like the palace was built recently. It had more life and color to it, along with two sleeping Titan dragons sleeping at the feet of the Odin statue. One was obviously Zephryna, with her sun-tanned scales and golden spines and spikes. But the other one was a dragon Hiccup had never seen before. It looked like Zephryna, but bigger and more masculine looking. Its body was covered in shinning opalescent white scales, and silver spikes and spines running down its back and head.

Then Hiccup remembered… Luna's dragon, the one who died in battle. What was his name…?

_"Boreas!"_ called a distraught girl's voice. The colossal white dragon now known to be Boreas lifted his head at the sound of the girl. His eyes were a startling shade of golden yellow. Zephryna also lifted her sleepy head, but seemed less interested compared to Boreas.

A young girl about Hiccup's age came rushing from another room, her royal clothing dirty and torn and her face stained with tears. She threw her arms around the dragon's neck and sobbed into his shimmering scales.

Hiccup recognized that hazelnut hair, and those silver eyes he'd caught a glimpse of when the girl came into the great room. This was Luna! But she seemed younger and more, well, open with her emotions.

Luna continued to cry to her dragon, Boreas adding whatever comfort he could. Eventually her sobs quieted and she looked the Titan in the eyes.

_"My brother's just told me that I'm cursed." _She said to him. Boreas looked at her with a surprised expression, before letting her continue.

_"He said that Laufeia was getting weaker and we were getting stronger, and she didn't like that so, she put a curse on me!" _Luna's younger self began to cry again. The giant tan wings of Zephryna wrapped itself around the girl's shoulders to calm her.

_"I'm so afraid. What if I die? Or worse, what if I kill someone Boreas?!" _she began to shout at her dragon, but he surprisingly rubbed his giant nose into her chest, letting his human cry herself out.

After what seemed like forever, Luna's cries quieted and she just hugged Boreas again and spoke so softly Hiccup could barely hear her.

_"I can't lose anyone else, including myself."_

That was all he saw before he blacked out again, that scream from his nightmares echoing into oblivion.

* * *

><p>Author's note: hey guys, I know I haven't left author's notes before but this will probably be my only one so yah. after this chapter I'm going to start devoting chapters to Clarisse and Hiccup's memories so that might take up a few chapter but not to worry the story will not be put on hold because of that. I hope you like it so far and please leave your reviews on the flip flop.<p>

SkulCandi... Out!


	26. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25****One heck of a Not-So-Much-Joy Ride**

"Hiccup! Hiccup where are you?!" Astrid cupped her mouth and shouted again. She was really starting to worry for that scrawny boyfriend of hers.

"Spiked, you out there?!" Clarisse's voice shouted next to her. Though she appreciated the pirate girl's help, Astrid wasn't too thrilled to get stuck looking for Hiccup with his sister. You could almost feel the irony in that sentence. The two of them had the same face, yet Astrid liked one of them, and hated the other. It made no sense, but it was just how it worked.

Suddenly Clarisse called to her from the garden. "Astrid I found him!"

Without another thought, Astrid sprinted to where she'd heard the pirate's voice. Within seconds she was in the garden, gazing at an unconscious Hiccup and a concerned Clarisse hoisting his limp form onto her back.

Astrid couldn't help but assume the worst. "Is he…" she couldn't bring herself to say it. She cared about Hiccup too much. She couldn't just loose him now!

Clarisse just had to answer with her sassy tone. "Don't be draft Blondie! He's fine, just banged up a little bit, we'll get him to Tia and everything will be fine." Astrid didn't believe her. She saw the look of concern in her eyes and it wasn't just because she cared about Hiccup. She was hiding something. Astrid just had to find out what.

"Tia! We're in need of immediate assistance!" Clarisse shouted into Tia's chambers. She and Astrid had dragged Hiccup's unconscious body into the monastery. Clarisse said she could carry him on her own but Astrid insisted on helping her. Hiccup was her boyfriend after all. The mystic appeared shortly after with an array of bottles and tonics in her hands already prepared.

"Put him on the table." She instructed. The girls did as she said and his limp body plopped down on an already cleared table.

Astrid's voice came out more terrified than she intended. "Tia is he-"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Tia cut her off. The mystic began to place lit candles in a circular shape around Hiccup's body, along with different bottles of weird substances. "He's going to be okay, it was a simple sleeping cast. He'll be fine if I do the spell." She explained as she began to chant in Latin.

Hiccup's body began to glow with a faint red aura, Tia chanted one last cast word and the glowing ceased.

"There, a good night's sleep and he'll be fine by morning." Astrid and Clarisse both sighed with relief, for a moment terrified for the boy's wellbeing. "Now both of you get some sleep! You've had a hectic night and you and Hiccup have another session tomorrow." Tia pointed to Clarisse and she chuckled nervously.

"Goodnight Tia. Goodnight Spike." Astrid barely heard Clarisse whisper that last part, but it made her smile. At least this meant that Clarisse actually cared about her brother.

"Goodnight, Beastie." Astrid said to the pirate girl. In her opinion, Beastie suited her a lot better than Babydoll. And who knows? Maybe it would stick. Clarisse stuck out her tongue at Astrid before leaving the mystic room and retreating to her own.

Astrid turned back to Hiccup's passed out body on the table with the lit candles. She curled her middle finger and thumb and flicked him right in the forehead.

"That's for almost dying." She said to his closed eyes. She smiled again and kissed his forehead before closing the door behind her as she left.

"That's for… everything else."

Hiccup woke up with a start. He was drenched in sweat and he was pretty sure he hit his head last night.

"Ow… What the heck…" he said to himself. He recognized enough to know he was in Tia Marina's room, and was on a table littered with burned out candles.

Said mystic walked through the door to the dragon room and greeted him with her normal bubbly persona.

"Good morning my boy! Did you sleep well? You slept like a rock thanks to me." She said as she began to take away the wax candle stubs from the table. Hiccup ran and hand through his hair and stopped and a little bump just at the base of his hazelnut locks.

"What happened?" he said groggily, ignoring Tia's earlier attempt at a cheery morning. Her kind face fell into a more serious tone,

"Last night you met one of Laufeia's children, I know it sounds impossible but it's not. Eris is the spiritual goddess of chaos and strife; Laufeia's oldest. Her youngest, Nyx, is the goddess of darkness and corruption. Both of them are very powerful and very dangerous." Tia explained. It all came rushing back now; Eris, Toothless freezing in place, the chaos spirit attacking him, and Hiccup seeing what he thought was a look at Luna's dragon.

"Eris attacked me." It wasn't a question. Tia nodded,

"She showed you a glimpse of your past life, she wants to through you off track. But you must keep at the convergent sessions and you and Clarisse will be ready to face them in no time." Hiccup could sense the fear in her accent. she was hiding something, whatever it was, Hiccup wanted to know.

Tia decided to change the subject. "Well then, don't doddle, your sister and dragon are waiting for us in the garden." And with that she herded him off of the table and out of the room quickly.

Oh man… Toothless!

"Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes!" Clarisse said to her twin as she gave him a hard punch on the arm. He yelped a little at the remembrance of his sister's strength.

"Nice to see you too Clarisse." He said while rubbing his arm.

"Glad to see you didn't die cuz." Snotlout said with his arms crossed and his usual cocky grin present.

"Good to see you up and around Hiccup." Fishlegs added.

The unmistakable feeling of another punch on his arm alerted him to Astrid's presence.

"Stop almost dying! It's so annoying." She said as she kissed his cheek. All of a sudden Hiccup was tackled to the ground by a mass of black scales and dragon slobber.

"Toothless! Come on! Gross!" he scolded as his night fury let the boy get to his feet.

"So, what happened to you?" Clarisse asked, changing the mood of the conversation from a cheerful reunion between best friends to a depressing talk about being attacked by chaos spirits.

"Eris attacked me." He said simply. The riders all exchanged confused looks, wondering what the heck he was talking about.

"Uh, who's Eris?" Tuffnut asked.

"She sounds like a total babe." Oh for Thor's sake Snotlout.

He saw Clarisse pinch the bridge of her nose. She sighed, "Snotlout, Eris is the name of the spirit of chaos. If you even said 'hi' she'd rip out your throat." Snotlout's cocky grin dropped into a pretty shocked expression.

"Oh." Was all he said as he paled a little bit. Clarisse gave her famous smirk as she crossed her arms with that little sparkle in her jade eyes that Hiccup couldn't decipher as brilliancy or insanity.

"So a chaos goddess attacked him? And I thought we had only one evil witch to deal with." Astrid sighed sarcastically.

"Laufeia had two children to spread her darkness and evil even when she was weak. Eris and Nyx are the two second most evil beings in the spiritual world." Tia folded her arms across her chest, fear creeping into those usually tranquil chocolate brown eyes.

"Will they effect what happens when we face Laufeia?" Clarisse asked, getting the question that was on everyone's minds out in the open.

Tia nodded, "When the final battle comes, Astrid will form a barrier while you two are inside with Laufeia. Outside the rest of you will keep Nyx, Eris, and the demons at bay so Astrid can keep the spell going."

"But we have no idea how to do any of that." Astrid threw her arms up to emphasize her point, "we don't have a barrier spell and I'm pretty sure I'm not ready to cast one."

And like a bolt of lightning Hiccup remembered. His dream!

"Wait! I think we do!" Hiccup shouted excitedly as he raced back into the monastery, the others exchanging more confused glances before following him.

Hiccup threw open the door to Clarisse's room, his forest emerald eyes searching every nook and cranny to find that book.

"How is whatever's in Clarisse's room going to help us find a barrier spell?" Astrid's confused voice demanded from behind him as he searched. Hiccup ignored her as he started to rummage through a drawer in his twin's desk.

After moving around a few drawings, pretty good ones I might add, he found it.

"We're going to get a few spells to defeat Laufeia…" Hiccup held up the book with the sun and moon crest on it. "With this."

"My book?" Clarisse spoke up with her head tilted to the side inquisitively.

Tia saw the old thing and squealed in delight. "Oh I knew you'd figure out the riddle and find it! I just knew it!" she threw her pale arms around Clarisse happily and ran to Hiccup taking the book from his hands.

"Wait, what?" he said as the mystic flipped through the pages. She answered without even looking up,

"I knew Larson had my old piano and I knew either you or Clarisse would find the inscription eventually. Destiny has a funny way of making things happen. Anyway, this book changes everything!" Tia exclaimed in a giddy tone.

"How so?" Clarisse asked.

"This book holds every spell that has ever been used by your past lives. Selene and Helios used the barrier to keep the demons out while they performed the shadow extraction cast, Ra and Khonsu used an exorcism, and Solaris and Luna used a banishment cast. It's all in here." Tia held up the open book for them to see. It looked the same as it had when Hiccup read it; charts, shapes, lists, and spells filled up every corner of the yellowed pages.

"So, this book could turn the tables on Laufeia." Astrid pointed out, realization dawning on everyone's faces.

"Exactly." Tia's grin grew across her kind and, at the moment, ecstatic face.

"Sweet! When do we start?" Clarisse said, her smirk appearing once again. Tia's smile faded and was replaced by a serious glare.

She explained carefully "Not before you complete convergence. If you attempt a spell powerful enough to stop Laufeia you could literally burn out. You'd need the convergent bond."

Clarisse nodded in understanding, "Well, that wouldn't be very good now would it?" she said with a slightly sarcastic smile.

Hiccup spoke up, "Well we'd better keep at it then. Shall we?" he extended a hand to his twin, who looked at it with a bitter look.

She then shrugged, "Why the hell not?" she shooed his hand away and followed Tia into the garden.

Hiccup noticed Tuffnut pull Clarisse to the side for a moment. He raised an eyebrow questioningly at the two talking without any physical violence. He didn't think it right to eavesdrop, but he couldn't help himself.

He caught some of the conversation as he walked by them, things like

"So we're still on for later?" Tuffnut asked.

"I look forward to the scars and bruises I will surly give you." Clarisse replied.

Hiccup saw Tuff grin egotistically, as usual. "Yah you do! See you tonight Babydoll." And like a bullet Clarisse's demonic sense of violence returned and she painfully twisted Tuffnut's arm around his back.

"Call me that again and I swear I'll rip those horns off your head and shove them through your throat." She snarled.

"I am hurt, I am very much hurt!" Tuffnut whimpered. Before Hiccup could intervene Clarisse let the male Thorston twin go and began to walk away. But not before she turned back and threw him a smirk and a wink. Hiccup furrowed his eyebrows at that. Did Clarisse and Tuffnut have a date?

Tuffnut whistled, "What a woman." he said to himself dreamily. Hiccup rolled his eyes with a smirk; those two had a very complicated love/hate relationship (if you'd even call it that.)

"Hiccup! Move your lazy butt!" Clarisse snapped from up ahead. He rushed after her as fast as his prosthetic would allow.

"I'm coming! Geez." He shouted back.

"Don't 'geez!' me!" she barked.

"Alright, now you know the drill: Astrid will watch your bodies while you're both in the convergent stage. Have fun." And with that Tia lead the riders out of the garden on the dragons, the three teens left behind looking at them go with longing eyes.

Surprisingly, Clarisse spoke gently to Astrid. "You should go with them. You deserve a break." She said. Astrid looked shocked for a moment.

"No, I'm not going to leave you two stubborn idiots here alone. What if something happens to you?" she began to object.

"We'll be fine Astrid. Clarisse is right, you need a break." Hiccup agreed. Hiccup and Astrid were locked in a silent battle, one staring down the other, until Astrid sighed and smiled at him.

"You'd better keep him out of trouble." She threatened Clarisse. Said pirate rolled her eyes with a smile,

"When have I ever let you down dear Blondie?"

Astrid frowned and walked away and mounted Stormfly, flying off to join the others in element training.

Hiccup and Clarisse joined hands, each taking a deep breath.

"Let's do this." She said before they both closed their eyes and let the spell take over. Now their memories would truly begin to become one.

* * *

><p>Author's note: and now, for the memories and back story for Clarisse Esperanza Merrill. and her twin brother Hiccup Horrendous Haddock lll. now I will not be making that many memories for Hiccup as I have not viewed any of the tv show, and i'm sure you guys already know his backstory pretty well by now, actually I didn't even know they had a tv show until recently so bear with me.<p>

SkulCandi... Out!


	27. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26 Convergence Part 2: How to Train Your Draki**

_You think your daily routine is complicated? I think I have you beat. My name is Clarisse, I know I know a pretty frilly name right? Well my parents picked it because they found me in the middle of the ocean, and the name means shining and calm. Which I guess reminds them of the sea for some reason. I don't know, anyways, my usually work days are pretty tough compared to the average professional. _

_Most people are fisherman or healers,_

_Me?_

_I'm a dragon._

_Well not an actual dragon. More like part dragon. When I was born I was really sick, so my dragon and best friend and half-brother Spectrum gave me his blood, turning me into a Dragon's blood. Draki for short. _

_It was a pretty hectic day already, I currently lived in a little slice of paradise called 'Blue Marina's Paradise Theater.' You think the name is overshot? I beg to differ! The theater had become my home in the past year, I had just turned fifteen when I moved here to train to be a proper draki in the care of my aunt, Marina Gorski._

_"__Alright girls! Get ready we have curtain in two hours!" called a man with slick black hair and a pirate's blouse._

_The guy in the woman's shirt is my uncle, Blue, I know, awesome name is it not? Anyway, he runs the theater and takes care of the other girls here while Marina, or Tia Marina, as I call her, trains me. Yah, being a draki isn't all flame throwing and flying if you ask me._

_In fact, no draki has ever been created before, I guess it's forbidden or something. I'm the only draki, which makes me feel great. _

_Blue takes a moment away from the girls to talk to me. "Clarisse, I hope you plan on being part of the show this time." He said expectantly. _

_Ever since I got here Blue's been wanting me to dance in the show like the other girls. It sounds like fun, but I've always been sort of the hiccup of the Paradise Theater. It's a dance hall where people can come to see shows and gamble, bet and have fun. It used to be a traveling franchise, until my mother, who used to be a dancer here, decided to send me to this place so my abilities could learn to be controlled. I honestly don't have a problem with that, it's just when I first arrived and met Tia Marina, I was so scared of myself and what I was capable of. But she showed me that being a draki is an incredible gift, so I agreed to train with her._

_However, though I am technically a dancer here, I've never actually performed. I turned to my uncle with a downcast expression,_

_"__Sorry Blue, I don't think so." I told him while absentmindedly playing with my hazelnut curls. I always had my naturally curly hair pulled into a high ponytail with my choppy bangs flipped off to the side._

_Blue sighed, "Well then I guess Reyna can take your place… again." Reyna was one of my few friends at the theater besides Spectrum. She had literally untamable black hair and icy blue eyes, and whenever I turned down another dance opportunity, she took my place. I appreciated it and I knew she loved the spotlight, but she was getting annoyed at me being so shy all the time._

_"__Baby! I hope you took his offer 'cause my sister isn't filling in for you this time!" called the voice of Kana, another one of my friends and Reyna's younger sister. She was the first girl I befriended at the Paradise Theater. She was quick to take me under her wing seeing as I was a little shy around new people._

_"__No Kana, I'm not dancing tonight." I told her with a sarcastic sigh._

_She crossed her arms over her chest with a huff. Blue took this as the opportunity to leave and prepare the other girls for the show. Kana gave me her stink eye and twirled with a light pink streak of color in her dark hair that matched her sisters'._

_"__Why not?!" she whined. She was wearing her usual get-up: leopard-print leotard with sparkly black stocking and dance heels, her black locks pulled back into a braid with a scarf that sat over her shoulder. I was wearing a dark dragon-skin leotard, black tights, and my high-heel boots I'd borrowed from Kana. Along with a fabric skirt with coins dangling from it that made me jingle when I walked._

_"__You know why not! I'm not cut out to be a dancer Kana." I said firmly. She scowled and pouted like a five-year-old at me._

_"__One of these days I'll convince you Babydoll. Then you'll have to dance on stage like everyone else, got it?" she tried her best at threatening me, to which I arched my eyebrow._

_"__Oh sure… and Amber will stop wearing leather like it's her birthday-suit." I shot back with obvious sarcasm lacing my voice. Kana grunted before stomping off to join the other girls in the dressing room, along with her sister and my other friends._

_I had four. There was Reyna, who acted like a diva most of the time, but she had a good heart._

_Kana, who was a bit too quirky and unpredictable for my taste, but I loved her like a sister anyways._

_Amber, who wore so much leather and velvet she looked like a hell's angel dance addition._

_And then there was Scarlett. Don't let the name fool you, she wore so much silver, gold, and other bling and metallic you'd never think she was named after a simple color like red._

_They were like my sisters and they wanted me to be a part of something, but I just didn't see it happening. Blue said I had talent, and Tia said that being social and confident would increase my draki skills, but I was just too shy. Or, maybe that's the wrong word. Unwilling to adapt, is more like it._

_Kana looked back at me from her spot next to Reyna, probably telling her she'd get my part again, and gave me a begging expression. _

_I shrugged and ran off to find Tia, leaving Kana and Reyna to wallow in their grief for my lost dance number alone. _

_I found the Russian woman's room in no time, seeing as it was right next door to the rehearsal studio, where I spent most of my time with my friends. I threw open the door and was attacked with an array of dragon kisses._

_"__Spectrum, come on! Ewe!" I shrieked in disgust at my beloved wailing banshee. _

_"__How nice of you 'not' to join the party." Exclaimed the accented voice of my aunt and mentor Tia Marina. I knew she was referring to me not participating in the showcase tonight, or any showcase for that matter. I shoved Spectrum off of me and got to my feet, putting on my wolf-skin hood, wood carved gauntlets and warm brown boot, and changing into the rest of my training wears. Tia and I always trained in the studio of the theater when no one was around, away from unwanted eyes._

_"__Yah," I said as I tied the knot on my warm hood. _

_Tia sighed, "Clarisse, I wish you would dance in the showcase, you have talent."_

_"__Yah but, I'm not much of the performing type. I wouldn't even know what to do if I was wearing something like this." I said as I fingered the jingling beads and coins on one of Tia's snazzy dance outfits on a mannequin. Not only did she assist in production and choreography, Tia also designed everyone's costumes. Usually including lots of sparkles, sequins, and rhinestones. _

_"__Well we could always use back-up dancers." She told me, securing her blood-red locks in a bun, her outfit jingling with every movement. Tia was currently wearing her favorite outfit: long flowing fabric skirt with a beaded coin wrap in bright blue, with a cerulean cropped top with long transparent sleeves that looped around her middle finger, also decorated with beads and silver coins. So if you could guess, Tia loved to jingle. _

_I however always wore dragon skin clothing, fake or not. Preferably fake. I always wore my favorite dark dragon top with a coppery metal belt and matching armor skirt, with transparent black sleeves and grey hunting pants, along with my knee-high brown leather boots, wolf-skin hood, brown fingerless gloves and carved gauntlets. Draki battle armor. Or just Clarisse battle armor. _

_"__Tia, it's best not to provoke a draki this way." I warned with sarcasm in my usually calm voice. "I warn you there will be consequences." I said, doing my best to sound threatening. Tia just looked at me with an expression that said 'really?'_

_"__Oh, I'm so frightened! Please don't hurt me, oh great and powerful draki!" she fake begged, getting down on one knee and looking pretty dramatic. I rolled my eyes and turned back to look at her open chamber door. Most of the girls were still running around in the organized chaos, trying to find Blue, get their costume or make-up presentable, or squeezing in some last-minute practice time before tonight._

_"__You really should try it one of these days." Tia started pushing me out of her room and into the studio, much to my dislike._

_"__What? No!" I said, trying to slow her down, but to no avail._

_"__Yes! Come on Clarisse! You're a great dancer, just go do it!" Tia advised excitedly._

_"__But I'm already in my training gear! And I haven't rehearsed with the other girls! I'd fall on my face as soon as the lights came on!" I objected, trying to grab onto something to prevent her from pulling me out of the studio and into the dressing room. _

_Tia set me down, her face etched with begging, even her lower lip quivered slightly. But she just sighed with her hands on her hips, "Clarisse, you have the moves, you have the dancer's figure, and you know the choreography like the back of your hand!" she exclaimed. I only lowered my head trying to think of a con to her pro._

_"__Yah okay, but… I don't even have a costume." I shot back, lifting a finger in realization. I leaned nonchalantly on one of Tia's costume closets without knowing it, triggering the sensitive door hinge and accidently knocking the door open, revealing an entire rack of sparkling dance costumes._

_"__Right." She said with an arched eyebrow at me while I looked nervously from the costumes to her._

_"__Those might not even fit me!" I said in return. She sighed and looked me in my jade green eyes._

_"__Clarisse, if you're going to stay here and train with me, you need to have a purpose in what we do here. And that means you have to dance. And what's more, you need to start embracing… this!" she lifted her arms up, gesturing to… well, everything._

_"__You just gestured to everything." I said, my arms crossed in defiance. _

_She looked up with her bright chocolate brown eyes, "Yes! Start embracing everything!"_

_I groaned in exasperation, Tia mimicking me with a snicker. I shot her a glare before stalking off._

_Tia caught up to me and put a firm pair of arms around my shoulders, "At least come with me to help the girls get ready. I promise you we will train after." _

_I looked at my aunt with a 'seriously?' face. "You're not giving me a choice, are you?" I said after a pause._

_"__Nope!" Tia trotted forward again towards the dressing room, which had an entrance to the stage and back-stage._

_"__You. Follow. Now." She ordered me. I groaned and followed her, reluctance in my every step, into the dressing rooms. The place was even more hectic than the studio. One day she'll listen to me, probably not but, it's worth an effort._

_I mean, it's not like I don't want to dance with my friends as well as the other girls, it looked like a lot of fun and I didn't really have a problem with dancing while I was alone in the studio or if Amber, Kana or some other un-judgmental friend was with me. The problem was I hated being watched. All that attention, waiting for me to make a wrong move and willing me to fail, I can't deal with that pressure so I avoid it as much as I can. Kana said I was amazing in my dance shoes and I took the crowd's breath away, but to be honest, I could care less about if people think I'm great or terrible. One of the so called 'perks' of being a draki. _

_Unfortunately, my friends want me to care otherwise. To them, to get to dance in the shows is everything. The Hollow's Eve festival is a quick party, all the dancers dress up like sparkly dragon monsters, inspired by Spectrum. The Chinese Changeling day, twice the size of the insanity, twice the chances of getting selected. The holiday specials are tough, being picked for one of those would get any girl a boyfriend, not that I was even looking. And then there's the one dance no one ever gets, the strange and elusive Festival of Fools. You'd have to be out of your right mind to volunteer for that._

_Speaking of out of your mind._

_My thoughts were cut off by a shrill shriek of excitement. My head jerked up to see Amber throwing her arms around me excitedly, suffocating me with her hug._

_"__Yay! I knew you would dance with us tonight!" she squealed. Amber, like the other girls, was wearing a shimmering dance costume. Creamy white leotard with sparkles along the neckline and black shorts that showed off her legs, dance heels, along with her dark brown hair curled to the side and a black choker._

_"__Amber actually-"_

_"__So, what will you be doing? What will you be wearing? Oh I can't wait to see your costume!" she grabbed my hand and pulled me backstage into the dressing room. I looked to Tia with a 'please help me' face, but she just waved with a triumphant smirk as I was dragged off to what I liked to call the Doll House. _

_"__Guess who changed her mind?!" Amber called into the room as we entered, her purple painted nails still clinging to my wrist. _

_I saw Kana and Reyna look up from their shared mirror vanity; Scarlett was close by getting into her costume. Kana got a grin on her artificially pink lips and Reyna just giving a proud smirk. _

_"__Well, well, guess I won't have to fill in for you this time, huh Baby?" she grinned. I rolled my eyes and pulled my wrist free from Amber's cat claws she called nails. _

_I shrugged with a sarcastic smile of my own, "Actually, I'm just going to be a fly on the wall and help out, from back-stage." I explained to them, putting extra emphasis on 'back.'_

_Amber seemed to pout and Reyna just shook her head, Scarlett still trying to put on as many gold and silver bracelets as possible on her bronze arms and not really paying any attention. _

_"__Did you even use the makeup I gave you?" Kana demanded, putting her hands on her hips and implying that I didn't wear makeup on purpose. This was kind of true._

_"__What does that have to do with anything?" I said, looking around to add to my point. Scarlett looked up from her endless array of jewelry with an arched eyebrow, her eyelids smeared in shades of silver and purple and lined with pitch black liner._

_"__It makes you look more… presentable." She spoke up in that monochromatic tone. I rolled my eyes,_

_"__Well," I started, "I used the mascara." They all just gave me the 'are you serious?' look. _

_"__That's it?" Reyna asked in her signature matter-of-factly voice. I just shrugged again. At that moment Tia burst into the dressing room, Spectrum staying at the door so not to make a mess with his large form. _

_"__Hate to interrupt girls, but Clarisse has training. Ta-ta!" and with that Kana and Amber squeezed the living life out of me with a quick goodbye hug. Wow, for petite dancing girls they sure would pack a punch. Reyna and Scarlett kept their butts planted in chairs at separate mirror vanities too wrapped up in their reflections and accessories to get up. They both simply waved absentmindedly and I gave my friends a quick salute before following Tia back to the studio. _

_"__So? Any mind changes, hmm?" she asked, her eyebrows furrowing in a sly waving motion._

_I rolled my jade eyes before answering. "Sorry to disappoint you Tia… but no." I gave my beloved dragon a pat on his nose and he croaked lovingly while chewing on a few of my curls, causing me to giggle and shove him away. _

_"__You know that's gross, yet you still do it?" I told him with a chuckle. He made his weird array of clicking sounds in reply. I loved that guy, he was like my brother. I mean, I already had more than enough sisters. Figuratively speaking, of course. I could barely keep my growing draki abilities under wraps from the public outside of the Paradise Theater, not to mention inside it. Most of the girls here already knew what I was, and I didn't think they cared much, but it still terrified me. _

_Tia says being a draki is a gift. She says that there have been others before me, but they never lived long, and yet others tell me I'm the only draki ever to be created! But to be honest, I trust Tia more than I do those other anonymous story tellers. _

_Like that guy Amber and I ran into one day at the docks when we were bringing my parents supplies for a pillaging journey. What was his name? Oh yah, he called himself Trader Johan. He kept looking at me like he'd seen a ghost! And he kept babbling on about how on some God-forsaken island in the middle of nowhere, some scrawny little toothpick was able to train a Night Fury. Hah! Train a Night Fury?! I've seen the best animal trainers in town, and they can't even get Spectrum to sit. And he's the most Push-Button dragon I've ever seen. No offense boy._

_But all in all favor I swindled him out of a gilded compass in return for my first dagger. It was a rusty piece of junk that I was dying to get rid of, but he said it had some value so, what the heck? _

_I cleared those thoughts away as Spectrum curled his leg so the bottom of his hoof-like foot would be turned up. I mounted him using his foot as a sort of step-stool, giving him a pat on the neck as I did. Two of his tentacles coiled around my wrists and arms for me to use to stir. _

_I watched Tia open the large double doors that led outside into the night. I felt a rush of cold air being released into the warm studio, fogging up the giant mirror and allowing my every breath to become visible. Though Spectrum waited for my say-so, I could feel his pulse quickening in anticipation, his longing for the freedom that came with flight. So, I gave him what he wanted._

_I spurred him as hard as I could and he shot off like a fired bullet, creating a rather strong breeze in our wake. _

_Spectrum spread out his luminescent wings and with one powerful thrust we were in the air, the wind roaring in my ears and ripping through my brown curls making me look like a dark fireball. I pulled up on my reins and Spectrum soared higher up into the clouds of the night._

_This is what I loved. This is where I felt free. Spectrum and I, connected through blood, dragon and human, become one through one simple thing. Flying together. _

_It was this freedom that truly connected us. Racing through the night, soaring with the wind. Me? There were times I felt I owned the night._

_Spectrum went into a dive and we broke through a sound barrier, creating an echo of thunder behind us. Believe it or not, wailing banshees are the fastest in the water, but like an air torpedo in the air. This was because of their naturally lubricated bodies. Tidal class dragons usually have abilities like this for water. _

_I spotted the docks just up ahead of us. Once I figured out what my dragon was doing, I leaned forward on his back edging him on, taking a deep breath of air before we crashed into the water._

_I could hold my breath for about twenty minutes on my own, and thanks to Spectrum's natural divinity for the ocean I had plenty of time to practice._

_We sped through the water, my hair tangling itself as we swam along, leaving a steaming trail of bubbles behind us. Spectrum wove his way around rocks, coral; we even used a reef as our own little obstacle course. He made a sharp turn around a coral bed, and we carefully made our way through a nest of sharks, but for some reason I felt no fear. When I was with my dragon, when I was one with him, I felt powerful. I felt free. And freedom is power. _

_I reached out an arm, my breath still safe in my lungs, to touch a great white that swam over us. Its skin was rough and bristled, but it paid me no mind as it swam along. I spread out my arms and let out a silent whoop of excitement. _

_Apparently Spectrum thought it a good idea to let out a call of the wild of his own. He shot a sound bomb at a wall of rather sharp looking coral and it crumbled as we swam through it, leaving me battered and cut in a few places._

_'__Seriously?!' I shouted in my head. Spectrum let out an apologetic croak as if he sensed my anger. I gave him a steady forgiving pat on the neck before we decided to surface. _

_We broke the surface of the water with a large splash, me gasping for air and Spectrum shaking coral bits from his mane. _

_"__Never. Do that. Again." I told him, referring to the coral wall incident. He made his usual clicking sounds, rolling his eyes and making his own dragon smile back at me. I gave him my own loving grin and spurred him, telling him to get in the air again._

_We flew around for at least an hour, doing spins and dives, sharp turns and new tricks I'd thought of while training with Tia. The wind, with the combination of the ocean and salt, had tangled and frizzed my hair beyond all recognition, and my face was cut up as well as bruised. But it was worth it. These midnight flights with Spectrum were the one thing that kept me sane in this crazy rollercoaster called life. Sorry for quoting a song but it's just how I feel. Once the moon was highest in the sky, and I knew I'd skipped out on draki lessons, I steered Spectrum back to the theater._

_We landed just outside the back entrance; I pulled my tangled mess of hair into its high pony-tail and snuck in through the double doors. Spectrum tried to be as quiet as possible, which was saying a lot since he was huge. The lanterns in the studio were blown out so I was getting back way past curfew, Blue was going to have my ass in the morning. But at the moment I didn't care, my heart was beating with too much adrenaline to worry about a simple scolding, and what a rush it was to be flying. Feeling like you're on top of the world, one with one of the most magnificent and powerful creatures in the world, to have that kind of freedom is indescribable. _

_"__Did you have fun?" Reyna's voice came out of nowhere, making me jump._

_"__Reyna!" I scolded her. She had her arms crossed and her hip cocked to the side the way only Reyna could do._

_"__Tia was looking for you." She said like she didn't care. She always meant well, but at times she could be a little bit monopolistic. But that was Reyna Brattleboro for you; she didn't really care what people think. _

_"__Thanks. I'll see her in the morning." I replied before heading off to my room. Most of the girls, including me, who worked here also lived here. I think that the theater was built to be a brothel, but when Blue and Tia bought it, they turned it into something less, you know, indecent. So obviously there were countless bedrooms to be filled. Blue let the dancers live here, in exchange for their work of course. _

_My room was pretty simple, yet whenever I let my friends in here they diva-fied it. My bed was red with a violet canopy draped over it along with black feather boas hooked onto the bed posts. With red covers and turquoise cylindrical pillows. Seriously? What am I? A genie? There was also an entire wall that served as my little library, with shelves covered head to toe in books I bought from Trader Johan or ones that Tie or the other girls leant to me. _

_Spectrum flopped down on the crescent shaped couch with multi-colored pillows and fell asleep instantly. Every girl's room was to be decorated the way they wanted, and I was perfectly fine with a simple bed and desk, but no… Kana insisted on helping me girly-fie it. But no matter, I liked it well enough and Spectrum adored chewing on the throw pillows. _

_I smiled at my dragon and undid my ponytail, letting my endless brown curls fall loose around my shoulders. I quickly walked over to his sleeping form and ran my hand through his fishy mane, scratching behind his ears the way her liked. He purred in his sleep before going out like a light, I took the hint to do the same. I climbed into bed and pulled loose the string that held up the canopy, letting it cloak my body in comforting darkness. I let the sound of Spectrum's steady breathing lull me to sleep, dream of flight and freedom blessing my mind._


	28. Note

**Author's note:**

**hey guys! look, I need your help, i'm making my Dragons oc Clarisse's beloved katana have a phrase on the sheath. and I can't decide!**

**1. If you don't stand for something, You'll fall for anything.**

**2: You have everything you need. Now Fight.**

**3: Sisters by blood. Family by bond.**

**Final. 4: Don't write a check with your Mouth you can't cash with a Sword.**


	29. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27****How to Train Your Draki Part 2**

_"__Remember Babydoll, draki are always quick and evasive." Tia instructed me as I moved my way through her almost impossible obstacle course. She'd set the thing up in the back yard while everyone slept. And here I thought she worshipped beauty sleep. _

_"__Tia. What's the point of this again?" I asked her as I nearly got hit in the stomach by a swinging wooden arm lined with spikes. The spikes on the swinging arms were lined with venom to represent those of a Deadly Nadder, since the draki are connected to dragons they must know as much as they can about each and every one. _

_Tia answered my question from the safety of the side lines. "This course resembles battling a deadly nadder, and they are quick and light on their feet. Your role as a draki is to be just as quick." she explained as I dodged another arm, this one aimed at my feet. _

_To be frank I was doing a lot better than I would have expected. I hadn't gotten hit once in the thirty minute I'd been doing this stupid course-_

_"__Ow!" I yelped as I was plowed in the back by a wooden arm. Luckily this one hadn't been covered in spikes so I didn't become human shish kabob. But it still hurt. _

_I heard Tia sigh, "that wasn't very quick or evasive." I shot her a glare, to which she just replied with a snicker. I have to tell you, this course was really becoming a pain in my-_

_I couldn't finish the thought because another arm hit me right in the stomach. And another in my side, this one lined with spikes so I got a pretty nasty scratch on my hip. _

_I tried calming my mind, try being quick and evasive like Tia said. But with so many deadly arms coming at me from all directions I didn't see a way to beat this. _

_Tia spoke up, upon seeing the blood seeping through my shirt. "Clarisse, what do we do when we are hit for no reason?" she asked me. I looked back at her, dodging another arm but it getting a good nick at my cheek._

_"__Find a doctor?" I shouted back, holding my bloody cheek with my bruised hand._

_Tia rolled her eyes, "No! We fight!"_

_After she'd said that I was hit right in the freaking face! A spiked arm hit me square in the jaw and knocked me down, and I'm pretty sure it just loosened my wisdom tooth. _

_I lay there, broken, battered, on the ground and bloody. Not really sure what to do next. Tears of pain pricking at my eyes, but I refused to let them fall and confirm my failure, that's not what I do. That's not who I am. _

_And a single thought passed through my head._

_Fight._

_My eyes flew open, a new sharpness to my vision. I could see the world in a new light. Every sight, every smell, every sound was heightened far beyond what it was not a second ago. I turned myself onto my back, getting my bearings and making out where I was and figuring out what move to make next._

_I flipped back up onto my feet, dodging an arm that nearly hit me in the face again. I think I surprised myself more than Tia. It was like I knew how to move and where to dodge and hit back, but it wasn't me who was moving. My back bent in an odd way when I ducked to avoid a spiked arm, much like that of a cat. Or a dragon._

_A new feeling spread through me. And for once it wasn't fear or pain, no, this was something different. It was like a dragon had been hiding itself within my soul and had just broken free. _

_I was free._

_I was a draki. _

_I could sense an incoming arm and everything seemed to slow as I jumped on top of it and redirected myself so I was facing the other direction, flipping over the spikes and landing on my feet._

_"__Whoa!" I said to myself, shocked by what I just did. Another spiked arm swung towards me, but I saw it coming and back-flipped out of the way and jumped over another arm, landing safely out of the course with a strange dragon-like sense of balance. _

_I was completely out of breath, staring wide-eyed at the course as it slowed to a stop. The sound of clapping snapped me back into reality. Tia was squealing excitedly and I noticed Spectrum staring at me like he'd seen a ghost._

_"__You little Babydoll, you did it!" she praised as she ran up to me and gave me a crushing hug. _

_"__I just did that." I replied, my eyes still sharp and vigilant. Tia nodded and handed me a small mirror._

_"__You are a draki." She added. I looked at my reflection and gasped. My eyes were still their soft shade of jade green, but instead of a warm hearth fire, now they were a burning fiery green with pupils thinned to vertical lines. Like those of a dragon._

_I looked back up at my beautifully strange aunt. She smiled proudly at me, a smile I couldn't help but return._

_"__Wow. Just, wow!" I breathed as I gave her back the small mirror. She pocketed the thing and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. _

_"__I knew you could do it." She told me softly. I started getting really excited; if I could do things like that, then who knows what I'm truly capable of?! For the first time in my life I felt powerful, like I was the untamed, unafraid dragon-girl everyone thought me to be. And you know what?_

_I liked it._

_"__Tia!" I exclaimed, getting excited and pacing quickly around the back yard. "This is amazing! I didn't know I could do that! This changes everything!" I knew I was just babbling at this point, which seemed to amuse said mystic, but I wanted to know more. I needed to do more. And if confidence and fearlessness is the way of the draki… then so be it. I needed to feel that confidence again._

_"__I have become the mighty beast!" I said proudly, puffing out my chest and flexing my arms. Said mystic chuckled lightly at my excitement. Spectrum saw this as an opportunity to try and tackle me in his own celebratory way. His creaking and croaking was a sign that he was laughing as he had me pinned beneath his two-ton body._

_"__Oh no you don't!" I grinned devilishly. I swept his legs and he flopped down onto his back, trying to roll back onto his feet before I pounced. To no such luck._

_I jumped onto him and took a fistful of his mane by the tentacles, my foot keeping his head down._

_"__He's down…" I said, adrenaline still pumping through my veins. Spectrum flapped out his wings and caught me off balance, flipping me around so he now held me down again._

_"__He's back up…" I pulled myself up with my legs and twisted my wrists around to wriggle free and plant a light kick in the dragon's snout, he creaked in annoyance and tried grabbing me with his tentacles again, but I dodged and leapt onto his back, still on my feet. I quickly located his pressure point and pushed down on it with my index finger._

_"__He's down and he is out'a here!" I cheered in exaggerated triumph when Spectrum hit the ground in a dazed pile of scales and fins. _

_"__You're getting stronger my dear." Tia said gently as she helped me to my feet. I pushed back a loose clump of hair behind my ear and waved it off._

_"__That? No that was just messing around." I scoffed. Tia arched her eyebrow and looked at me,_

_"__And yet, you still managed to disarm a dragon without any weapon form." _

_This got my attention. I must have more strength than I thought to down Spectrum that easily. I mean, he was a big kitten just the same, but he was still a dragon with great strength._

_Now I was scared. What if I couldn't control this? What if I got out of whack and hurt someone? Or even worse._

_"__Tia." I said, fear creeping back into my voice that was confident and fearless not a moment ago. "What if, when I'm a draki. What if I get out of control? What if I hurt someone?" _

_Tia's expression turned from proud to sympathetic in a heartbeat. She sighed,_

_"__That is why we need to train. I will train you personally. You will be able to control this because you are a fighter. I sensed that about you when I first met you." She explained calmly, wrapping her arms around me again. She broke away and held my shoulders, looking me in the eyes._

_"__You are a draki Clarisse. A Dragon's blood."_

_I smiled at my aunt; she only showed this kind of maternal love so much. The red-headed mystic was like my second mother, she was this way with everyone who lived here. Tia cupped my cheek in her hand and gently took my wrist, feeling my pulse on her pale fingertips._

_"__Blood of the dragon…" she muttered, holding my wrist in her delicate hand. She then placed my own hand over my heart, and I felt the steady beat within my chest. "…Heart of the fighter." She smiled at me, her crimson painted lips curled up in her motherly features._

_Well, now or never, I thought. "Tia. I want to dance." I told her. With those simple words Tia looked startled for a moment, but then it turned to bubbly excitement._

_"__Of course you do!" she practically screamed. "Come, we must tell your uncle." And with that she took my wrist in her hand and pulled me back inside, me smiling the whole way. When we reached the stage room, where Blue was supposed to be doing a dress rehearsal with Reyna and Scarlett._

_"__Alright Reyna, let's run through it one more time." He explained to her._

_"__Blue, darling, we have some excellent news!" Tia called to her husband. He looked up from adjusting Scarlett's hair to answer her,_

_"__What is it?"_

_Tia grinned from ear to ear, throwing a quick glance my way, I nervously smiled in return._

_"__I've decided to start performing." I rushed the words out of my mouth before I could change my mind. _

_Blue just stared in a complete loss for words. Reyna smiled smugly with her arms crossed and Scarlett just picked at her nails absentmindedly. Between you and me Scarlett isn't exactly the sharpest sword on the rack if you ask me. But if I ever told her that she'd kill me._

_"__Finally" I heard Reyna mutter. What was odd is that she was all the way up on stage, and I was down near the entrance. Tia even had to practically shout across the room from where we were. And since Reyna said that under her breath, I shouldn't have been able to hear her so clearly. Maybe it was a draki thing. _

_Blue turned to her with a chuckle, giving a silent agreement. He turned back to Tia and me with a look of pure glee on his face. "That's fantastic!" he climbed down from the stage and ran at the two of us excitedly like a kid running into the newly opened candy store. _

_He scooped me up and spun me around in a tight hug, "You brilliant little Babydoll! I knew you would agree eventually!" he said. I laughed hysterically, partially from dizziness and the other part from adrenaline. _

_Blue finally set me down on my feet again, smiling proudly and myself giggling from my spinning daze. His face quickly turned from prideful to concerned, brushing his hand over one of the cuts on my face._

_"__What happened to your face?" he asked. He took me by surprise for a moment, but then I remembered the stinging cuts on my face, my nose and lip covered in dried blood, and bruises forming everywhere else._

_"__Oh, uh… training." I said simply. He made an 'O' shape with his mouth in realization, nodded once and then went back to his warm and welcoming yet shady and tricky demeanor. He turned to Reyna and gave her the urgent look he didn't use often,_

_"__Reyna can you take Clarisse to go get cleaned up?" she nodded and climbed down from the stage, walking over in her lavender heels to stand at my side._

_"__So, about your dance…" Blue's voice trailed off before he continued, "Marina would have to make you a costume but she has been expecting this for a while, so she won't be starting from scratch." I sent Tia a look that said 'really?' she just shrugged and I let my uncle talk._

_"__We would have to rehearse and come up with a theme and name for you-"_

_"__Name?" I interrupted._

_"__A stage name, we'll go with Babydoll."_

_I threw Reyna a confused glance; she smiled smugly and whispered to me,_

_"__Mine is Reyna the Royal Renegade." I raised an eyebrow at my raven-haired friend. Yah, that nickname defiantly fit._

_"__Now, we don't have any openings after the holidays, you know, family matters. But the Festival of Fire is coming up; we'll be performing in five days." Blue explained. My eyes widened,_

_"__Five days?!" I said, a bit louder than I intended. _

_"__Blue, you can't expect an inexperienced performer like Clarisse to be performance ready in five days! I admit she has skill but it's too raw!" Reyna added, putting her hands on her hips._

_I appreciate Reyna's logical thinking, but it wasn't that narrow a situation. I wanted to do this. I needed to be a draki again. Feel untamed and unafraid. To have that confidence rushing through me like white rapids in a canyon. Washing away anything that stands in its way, eroding obstacles and disintegrating enemies. I know it's a pretty heavy analogy but what did you expect from a girl with a gypsy mother and a pirate father. My life is the very definition of weird. _

_I spoke up after giving Reyna a look. "Don't worry you guys. I can do this."_

_Blue, Tia, and Reyna all looked at me, Scarlett still on stage picking at her nails with a blank look. _

_"__Since when are you so confident?" Reyna asked with her usual smug look. She playfully punched me in the arm, answering her own question. I simply shrugged and turned back to Tia and Blue._

_Blue smiled giddily, "Perfect, you two, start immediately!" he pointed to me and Reyna. She arched an eyebrow at him and I pointed to my bloody and bruised face._

_Realization dawned on my uncle, "Oh. But first, Clarisse go get cleaned up. Dinner is in an hour." And with that my aunt and uncle walked off with a simultaneous skip in their step. My eyes widened a bit, how had it gotten so late already? I guess I hadn't realized that I'd been training with Tia all day. Well, more like getting beat up all day. _

_Reyna turned to me with that big-sister look I rarely saw her give anyone. Not even Kana._

_"__Alright, come on. Let's go." She said as she jerked her head to the side, indicating for me to follow. I nodded and quickly rushed to catch up with my raven-haired friend. _

_She took me to her room, where many healing items were stored. Reyna had an affinity for medicine and healing. As if her huggable and approachable demeanor didn't hint that already. Note the sarcasm. _

_I sat on the comfortable chair near Reyna's desk and held still as she moved my head around, getting the best view of the blood, bruises, and beat marks. Hah! Say that five times fast. _

_She cleaned my face with a wet piece of cloth and gave me a burlap bag filled with ice to put on my mouth. Confirmed I had indeed lost a tooth. _

_"__How many times did you get hit in the face?!" Reyna asked me, her eyebrows furrowed in mid-scowl. _

_I shrugged. "Five, maybe six… Teen."_

_"__Sixteen?!" she growled. I know she was only worried for me considering I was her friend, but she doesn't need to yell. I held up my hand that wasn't holding my bag of ice in my usual sarcastic demeanor._

_"__Calm down, it's Tia's training Reyna. I'm gonna loose a tooth or two, but I'm getting better." She cut me off,_

_"__Oh yah? How so?" she crossed her arms with a smug smile. I shot her a glare before getting into my excited story-teller mood,_

_"__I took a pretty bad hit to the face, I'm on the ground, bloody and beaten, but then, something happened. I felt confident, I felt strong. I flipped up, dodged arms of pain and even punched others, and the next thing I know I'm on the other side of the course!" I exclaimed. _

_Reyna looked at me with an unamused expression; she sighed and uncrossed her arms. "So that's why you're so fearless all of a sudden! Your draki side is finally showing up! Clarisse, this is great!"_

_I expected her to be, less supportive and happy over this._

_I laughed, "You're really happy about this aren't you?"_

_She punched me in the arm in her own twisted friendly way, "shut up, this is a big deal Clarisse. With this new sense of confidence just imagine the things you'll be able to do!" Reyna threw her arms up in excitement for me. Now I was the one to cross my arms._

_"__That's the plan: see what I'm capable of and find ways to use and control it." I added. Reyna nodded. She pulled me in for a hug, which she never gave to anybody, ever! She must be really happy for me to do this._

_At that moment, we both heard a shrill scream of giddy excitement. Reyna and I turned to see Kana, Amber, and Scarlett standing in the doorway, Amber being the one who screamed._

_"__The best thing ever has happened!" she squealed again, zooming up to me and crushing the oxygen out of my lungs with a hug._

_"__Amber, stop suffocating her! She needs her lungs for practice tomorrow." Scarlett scolded her. Amber made a pout-face and let me go,_

_"__What practice?" I asked, still out of breath from the amber-haired octopus squeezing the life out of me. My friends all looked at me like I'd grown a pair of wings; as if it'd be so crazy. I arched an eyebrow at them and shrugged, indicating that I was clueless. _

_Kana sighed, blowing some clumps of her short choppy black hair out of her face. "If you're gonna perform, you need to be in tip-top shape, which means more studio time, more rehearsal time…" I had a feeling I knew what she was going to say next,_

_"__Don't say it." I prayed under my breath. Yet my prayers went unanswered,_

_"… __and more training with Tia." Kana finished. I puffed out my cheeks in exasperation, not thrilled to get more time for my beating sessions I mean, 'draki training.' _

_"__Great." I muttered sarcastically. Kana didn't hear me, or at least pretended not to,_

_"__no matter, this is an amazing thing, and we need to start getting you ready." She continued, getting excited faces from the others._

_I arched an eyebrow in confusion, "Ready for what?" I asked._

_Reyna, Kana, Amber, and Scarlett all grinned at me mischievously, and I started getting nervous about what they would do._

_Out of nowhere in particular, Scarlett pulled out a ceramic bowl with a strange purple substance inside._

_My eyes widened as realization hit my like an a-bomb. I looked at my friends' styled hair. Reyna had long raven hair with one stripe of white running through like a skunk-stripe. Her sister had shorter black hair with a few streaks of ballet pink in her choppy locks. Scarlett went with her name and painted her hair with a blood-red crimson with the tips painted gold. And Amber had golden hair with streaks of grey to give it that silver and gold look._

_"__Oh no…" my voice trailed off. My hands went to my hazel-brown curls, which were currently out of their usual pony-tail and exposed to the divas in front of me.__Scarlett and the others took slow and terrifying steps towards me, despite my stuttering protests. Reyna took a highlighter brush from her pocket and dipped it into the purple goo, inching it slowly towards my hair._

_"__No, Reyna. No, no, no…" I let out a yelp as my friends jumped me, holding me down and painting the purple stuff at the ends of all my brown curls._

_The only sound coming from the Paradise Theater was the frantic screams of a teenage girl having her hair dyed against her will._


	30. Note 2

Dear loyal readers...

i know you want to get back into the actuall story instead of my characters memories and backstory, but i asure you, the next chapter along with the beginnning of the chapter after that will be my last italic-written chapter.

and then we can get back to the story!

Horray!

BTW the winner for the Clarisse Katana Phrase question is phrase #1, thanks for your input!

SkulCandi Out!


	31. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28: How to Train Your Draki Part 3**

_I looked at my own reflection in my mirror vanity; I scowled slightly at my newly dyed purple curls. Last night my friends painted my hair against my will, my roots and upper head were left hazel while the ends of my curly locks were painted bright violet. Thanks a lot guys. Note the sarcasm. _

_I ran my fingers through my hair as I pulled it into its ponytail, my choppy bangs scattered along my face. A knock sounded at my door as I pulled on my high-heel dance boots._

_"__Come on Clarisse, I've been waiting for five minutes!" Scarlett's voice said from the other side of my door. I rolled my eyes and puffed out my cheeks, whistling to Spectrum to let him know we were leaving._

_"__Alright miss bossy, I'm coming." I told her as I approached my door. I could almost see her scowling at my door. _

_Spectrum jumped up excitedly and trotted happily to the door, waiting for me to open it for him. You'd think that with the near sixteen years he's been with me he'd learn how to turn a doorknob. Apparently not._

_I opened the door, my yelp of protest when the rainbow scaled dragon tackled Scarlett to the ground with an avalanche of dragon slobber._

_"__Spectrum! Down boy!" I ordered him. He looked back at me with pleading eyes, while poor Scarlett tried clawing at him with her freshly filled nails to get the horse-sized beast off of her. I held my gaze with those sea-green eyes of his and her groaned sadly before leaving Scarlett be. said girl shot Spectrum a glare before whipping the slobber off her face, smearing some of her mascara in the process and giving her that raccoon look. _

_I held back a giggle at my friends messed up makeup, wondering whether or not to say something._

_"__What?" she growled, still mad about the dragon kisses she got only seconds ago._

_I looked everywhere but at Scarlett's mad expression, "Nothing." She crossed her arms, not looking the least bit convinced._

_I decided to change the subject, "Well come on then, we've got rehearsals and whatever." I hurried down the hall, Spectrum at my heels and a now grumpy Scarlett trailing a little ways behind. _

_Scarlett, Spectrum, and I arrived at the studio a little bit behind schedule, mostly because a certain dragon smelled Cook frying fish in the kitchen and Scarlett and I had to drag the poor banshee away before he ate everyone's dinner. None the less we made it._

_"__You're both late." Said a certain raven haired diva known as Reyna. Scarlett huffed,_

_"__Tell that to Rainbow Dash over there, he nearly ate out the whole kitchen!" she exclaimed angrily, pointing to Spectrum who was currently laying in the corner amusing himself with his tail, swishing I back and forth while he chased it. Scarlett was shooting me an accusing glare, I simply shrugged with an unamused expression. _

_"__He was hungry." I said with an uninterested tone. Reyna just rolled her eyes and walked back over to where Kana was stretching on the rail and Amber was in a full split, which would have been impressive if it didn't make me kind of sick to my stomach. _

_Amber took one look at Scarlett and exploded in a fit of giggles, somehow still holding her split. _

_"__What are you laughing at?' Scarlett asked with an arched eyebrow. Kana looked at her too, also starting to chuckle under her breath._

_"__What?!" she repeated, this time it was more of a demand than a request._

_Amber snorted trying to keep her giggles under control long enough to answer, "Love the new look Scar." She cackled. Realization dawned on Scarlett's face as she rushed over to the wall that was entirely made of reflective glass. A mirror wall so to speak._

_My crimson-haired friend shrieked when she saw her raccoon-style makeup. Amber cackled even louder and started snorting and laughing like a mental patient._

_"__What the hell happened to my face?!" Scarlett asked her reflection. Upon seeing her reaction, Kana, myself, even Reyna started laughing jovially. The other girls in the studio paid us no mind, which I didn't exactly have a problem with, they were all secondary characters in my life anyhow. _

_"__Sorry Scarlett, it's just so, hah... funny!" Amber snorted in between laughs. I shook my head with an amused grin, it was funny, but not _that_funny. _

_Reyna must have thought the same thing and put a stop to Amber's teasing, "Okay Amber, we get it, Scar has Raccoon Eye." She then turned to Scarlett and jerked her head towards the wash-room, giving the silent order to go clean up. Said crimson-haired girl nodded, glancing at the mirror in disgust before racing off to clean up her face. I giggled under my breath once before Scarlett left the room, and even after she shot a death glare at Spectrum, probably figuring out that his morning smooch is what caused her makeup to smear. He just looked at hr wide eyed as if to say 'what? Did I do?'_

_I giggled slightly at the thought. _

_Reyna turned back to me with a serious expression she wore like, all the time. "Okay then, Tia's not here so we have to get you performance-ready."_

_Kana added, "Yep, you're gonna do great." The raven-haired girl gave me a semi-sarcastic thumbs-up. Which might have been mocking me, I wasn't sure, and frankly, I was okay with that. _

_Kana and Amber pulled out what looked like one of those painted fences they use for horses to jump over in shows. They set it behind me and walked away._

_"__Now, do a back-summersault over that." Reyna ordered as if it was easy. I stared at her wide-eyed as if she'd grown a second head. _

_"__Do, what?!" I said, checking to see if I'd heard her correctly. Reyna just crossed her arms and shifted her weight onto one leg, giving me the look._

_"__You heard me." She said blankly. I continued to stare at her, then the fence behind me, then back again. She was kidding, right? I mean, what happened at training yesterday was mostly adrenaline and draki emergency power. It's not like I had a chance of doing it on my own, by myself, no draki power whatsoever!_

_Reyna shot her sister a look; Kana just gave a curt nod and herded me out of the way._

_"__Clarisse, when you're in a tight space and there's no escape what's the best way to deal with it?" Reyna asked calmly. I shook my head,_

_"__Run for your life and pray for mercy?" I replied with only partial sarcasm. My raven haired sister-friends gave me odd looks before Kana rolled her eyes._

_The purple-streaked girl jumped up and her back bent backwards as she outstretched her arms to catch herself on the ground with them. She shifted her weight and landed on her feet on the other side of the fence. _

_I stared at her with my mouth slightly agape; she just freaking back-flipped over that thing!_

_Reyna added to her earlier testament, "You find a strategy of escape and play it out no matter what risks. Being draki is about being fearless and confident. You make your own lives, find your own ways. And most of all, you stay and fight."_

_"__I thought this was dance practice." I muttered under my breath._

_Kana rolled her eyes again, "it is, but my sister just thought to throw in another boring draki lesson." Said sister shot Kana a glare, but she just stuck out her tongue in an immature way._

_"__Jumping over this will also give you some flexibility practice, which you will need for both dance and draki lessons." She explained. I nodded,_

_"__Okay, now you try!" Amber spoke up with an excited grin on her face. My eyes went wide again, slightly staring at the fence that may or may not have gotten taller in the last two seconds. Probably not, but still. _

_My feet moved before I told them to as I stepped solemnly to the foot of the fence, my back turned and sweat forming above my brow. I looked back at Reyna with an expression that probably read 'you're seriously going to make me do this?'_

_My raven-haired friend only nodded once with an un-amused expression. I groaned softly, not enough for her to hear, but just enough for me to let out some fear and frustration._

_Kana must have noticed my distress, so she must have taken upon herself to consol me like the ridiculously__good friend she was._

_"__Clarisse, just remember Tia's lessons. You can do this."_

_I gave her a grateful look; she had a point. I had bested the arms of pain just yesterday! Why couldn't I just jump over an itty-bitty fence?_

_It was just like Tia said: Be untamed._

_Be unafraid._

_Be confident._

_Be brave. _

_Be the Dragon._

_And jump…_

_Before I knew what was happening, I leapt backwards, no thoughts passing through my head; I felt like I was in a trance, like I was in a dream. A furious, adrenaline fueled dream. _

_Once, when I was five years old, and still living on the mainland with my mother while my dad pirated the world, I decided to climb a rather large oak tree. Spectrum had his doubts, but I eventually convinced him it could be loads of fun._

_I remember reaching for a rotted branch, the blackened wood snapping in my small hands. _

_I remembered falling from at least twelve feet in the air, and yet, not a single yelp escape me. Spectrum had been at the foot of the tree to catch me and prevent anything that could have been a serious injury, or worse._

_But I remember the feeling of flight that had passed me by as I fell through the space between that rotten branch and the soft forest floor. The brief moment of my stomach doing back-flips and my heart racing a million miles an hour. _

_Once I landed safely on my brotherly dragon's back, I couldn't pull my gaze away from the sky._

_Sure I had fallen and nearly broken my neck, but I felt no fear. I didn't feel scared or hurt. No, a different feeling had seeded it's self in my veins and would grow over the years that I would do the same._

_Freedom._

_The memory of that rotten branch passed through my head as I landed perfectly on my two feet, my breath steadying out and my body scrunched into a crouch. _

_I lifted my head to look at the fence that had been behind me with a newly sharpened sense of sight._

_It happened again._

_My dragon side had shown itself once again. _

_Amber and Kana stared at me with their mouths agape, while Reyna stood with her arms crossed and that smug smile on her face. Honestly I didn't see what the big deal was. I mean, Kana just did the same thing like two minutes ago. And they were looking at me like I grew ears and a tail._

_To be frank that wouldn't really surprise me at this point. _

_"__Dude… that was amazing!" Amber squealed._

_I arched an eyebrow at the two of them, "Kana did the same thing like ten seconds ago." I said, gesturing to the fence._

_Kana gave me a look that said 'you seriously don't know!?'_

_"__Clarisse, that was incredible. Your back twisted around and bent up like a freaking snake! And the way you turned your body to kick up and land in the most perfect position on your feet, it was so cool!"_

_I looked at her like she was crazy, the purple-streaked girl looked absolutely ecstatic! Did I… did really just go dragon on that fence and clear it like it was a twig in the forest? I mean sure Kana had done it but she had probably been practicing for months on flexibility and whatever else. But me… I not only back-flipped over the wooden wall that was now in front of me, but in Kana's words: I flipped over it like a freaking snake!_

_"__Did really just do that?" I asked disbelief and shock plastered all over my face as well as filling up my jade eyes. _

_The three girls nodded in reply. I dropped my arms and puffed out my cheeks. Wow, this was incredible, yet unbelievable._

_I mean, could I really be the oh-so amazing draki everyone knew and expected me to be?_

_Or was I just a shy teenage girl who was too afraid of being accepted to even try to be free like she wanted._

_With oh-so perfect timing, Scarlett came back from the wash-room with newly applied makeup and the smeared stuff removed from her features. She noticed the others staring me down with encouraging looks and my own eyes suddenly finding my boots very interesting._

_"__What did I miss?" she spoke up. _

_I continued to stare at my feet, not answering my crimson-haired friend. Kana gave me a quick glance, a tad of nervousness in her eye, but that quickly disintegrated as she explained to Scarlett what I just did._

_"__Wow." She said. "And on your first day, most have to practice for months to get that fence down."_

_At this I perked up; months? Months?! It took the average person months to back-flip over that sort-of itty-bitty fence?!_

_And it only took me eight seconds._

_I felt my eyes widen, my breath catching in my throat and my gaze turning back to the untouched fence._

_I stared at it for a good minute or two, and a prideful smirk wound up curling up on my lips._

_I jumped that thing in less than ten seconds with no practice at all, whereas anyone else with no practice would take weeks to master it._

_That was pretty awesome._

_And like I said before, I craved freedom more than anything. And that might just be coming from my dragon blood-filled veins but who gives a crap?!_

_Freedom is what any pirate, draki, or general human being wanted and lusted after._

_The only time I'd ever felt such bliss was when Spectrum and I were out flying. But I couldn't fly all the time, so the most logical step would be to find other ways to feel freedom and confidence._

_I continued to smirk at the fence I'd jumped; if dancing and having fun were my tickets to feeling free and confident like I was now…_

_Bring it._

_"__I'm ready." I said with that slightly unsettling smirk still etched into my usually shy features._

_Reyna looked up from chatting with her sister, "Huh?"_

_I felt a confident growl slither out of my voice-box. "You heard me. Let's do this."_

_Reyna and the others smile excitedly, said raven-haired girl getting a proud grin on her face. She nods once and I instantly understand…_

_Because now my training will begin anew._

_No more cowardice human junk._

_It's the Dragon's turn now._

**_Monday_**

_In Draki training, Tia put me on a twelve-foot horizontal balance beam while blades, hammers, and who knows what else was thrown at me from somewhere._

_My job was to make it through without getting hit, or dying._

_Whichever one fit._

_I had nearly gotten chopped by a flying axe that managed to slice off a lock of my dyed purple hair._

_At this I became royally pissed._

_My vision sharpened and I felt unstoppable; I dodged the flying weapons and ran across the beam with a scary sense of perfect balance. _

_One hammer nearly got me, but I bent backwards and dodged it with a Matrix move that I was particularly surprised by._

_My feet hit the ground on the other side of the beam with perfect poise._

_I hadn't even broken a sweat!_

_"__Excellent! At this rate you'll be ready in no time!" Tia exclaimed giddily._

_I looked back at the swinging weapons, a smirk growing on my face that would soon become my signature._

**_Tuesday_**

_Blue had me practice with Amber and Kana on various dance techniques such as splits, high-kicks, summersaults and a bunch of other stuff._

_I had some trouble with the full split, but I eventually had it down._

_The high-kicks weren't very difficult considering I had a pretty good sense of balance now, and the summersaults were a synch with my draki mojo. My uncle had been pretty impressed by my quick learning, but I promised to stay modest after becoming a huge star._

_In Amber's words anyway._

_But they were right…_

_I was getting better and my Dragon side was getting stronger. _

**_Wednesday_**

_Tia and Scarlett were showing me their current ideas for a costume. They were all pretty amazing…_

_But unfortunately none caught my attention that much._

_"__Well what are we even looking for?" I asked finally. Sounding like more of a snarl than a question._

_Scarlett shot me a look that was a mix between annoyance and surprise at my dragon-like outburst. "Well, what would you expect in a dance costume?" she asked me._

_I pondered the words for a moment; a dance costume for a draki would have to be heat-resistant, stretchy but not clingy, showy but not _too_showy. _

_I shrugged and turned the page of Tia's design book, my eyes freezing on one particular dress. _

_It had a cropped top with tie-around straps, with beads and coins dangling from every which end. the skirt started off long and flowing but pulled away to be shorter and easier to move around in, also with coins and sparkles lighting it up and making it jingle. All painted in a fiery crimson color._

_I instantly loved it. _

_I had selected my costume recommendation and Tia got to work while Scarlett taught me how to dance- or even walk- in dance-heels._

_Or what I liked to cal them: dance-hells._

**_Thursday_**

_My first dress rehearsal was today, and I have to say I'm excited beyond belief, and so nervous that I'm not able to breathe at times. And by 'at times' I mean all the time._

_Tia had me actually fight some guys she hired at the market!_

_And to be honest I find it creepy that four random dudes would agree to fight a fifteen year-old girl for payment. But hey, if it pays, you play, right? _

_Anyway, I swear, those stupid thugs must have planted at least seventeen punches and kicks in my…_

_Well everything really._

_I had just taken a fist to the law before the third guy, who had an eye-patch for some reason because both of his eyes were fine, anyhow the third guy had thrown another punch at me, and I caught his fist mid-punch, my small hand clenched around his burly one._

_He looked absolutely terrified for a second before he tried to pull his hand free._

_I couldn't help but smirk at his slight terror, his fist has shaking in my hand as I stared him down with my dragon eyes._

_I acted before I thought about it which I had been doing a lot lately, and swept the guy's legs and planted a hammer-kick in his stomach so he'd stay down._

_The other three guys tried to gang up on me but I swung a round-house at #2 and butterfly-kicked #3 in the jaw. Both hit the floor in a matter of seconds. _

_I shot a defiant glare at guy #1, who just put up his hands and dropped to his knees._

_"__That's what I thought." I growled at him. _

_I lunged forward in a mock punch to scare him, which worked because I heard him whimper a little bit._

_I chuckled at his cowardice._

_I was awesome._

**_Friday_**

_"__Blue, I am one hundred percent sure that I cannot do this." I told my uncle with a semi-sarcastic tone. _

_Tia and my uncle had shown me the moves to my first dance. It involved a lot of summersaults, kicks, flips, and a bunch of other nearly impossible __Scheize__. I do not feel the need to translate. I'm just going to say that. _

_Reyna and Kana gave me exasperated looks, "Clarisse, you've been practicing and training all week, and now you just want to back out now, are you being serious or are you just messing with me?!" Kana snapped, making a bunch of hand gestures to add to her point._

_Reyna added, "Kana's right, you've worked too hard for this."_

_I puffed out my cheeks; I turned to Spectrum, who just looked at me with an un-amused expression. I furrowed my eyebrows at the dragon; he shot his eyes towards Reyna, then back at me, then Reyna, then back again. _

_I rolled my eyes at him before continuing, "You're right."_

_"__Dang right I'm right!" Kana said, a little too enthusiastically. _

_I rolled my eyes again, the purple-streaked girl giving me a look with her hands on her hips and her eyes narrowed. _

_I knew she wasn't going to stop pestering me, as well as anyone else would stop bugging me about it._

_"__Alright, let's get this party started!"_

**_Saturday_**

_My performance was tomorrow, and today Tia had me up against an actual dragon! _

_She'd somehow convinced a full-grown monstrous nightmare to fight me. Not surprised, nightmares are very hotheaded and will often look for fights for no reason in particular._

_The dragon had deep purple scales and gold eyes, Tia explained to me that most dragons had gold or yellow eyes, but for some reason when I technically became a dragon, my eyes remained green._

_"__So, why are my dragon eyes green while most of them have gold?" I asked Tia as I dodged the dragon's whip-like tail slashing at my head. _

_Tia seemed unfazed by the fact that her favorite- and only- niece was battling one of the most dangerous dragons in the region, but answered my question none-the-less._

_"__Most dragons inherit their eyes from parents, and most parents have gold or yellow eyes. And some cultures believe that a dragon that develops their own eye-color that isn't inherited; it's a sign that they're destined for great things." She explained._

_I zoned out for a moment while dodging a claw-swipe from the nightmare, "Huh?" I let out a pain filled grunt as the nightmare hit me in the gut with his wing, throwing me to the other side of the yard. _

_I could hear the dragon laughing to himself at my belly-flop into the ground. _

_I spat dirt out of my mouth and got back on my feet, a growl building up in my throat and my pupils thinned to a point. _

_"__Hey!" I shouted back at the nightmare. He turned his head to me, a look on his face that read 'oh, you're still alive?'_

_And it infuriated me._

_I broke into a run towards him; he winced for a moment before lighting himself on fire and charging towards me. _

_Everything seemed to slow as the dragon ran to me. The nightmare opened his maw and breathed a stream of flames in my direction, it looked like he was going to roast me, but at the last second, I jumped up and pulled out a syringe filled with liquefied Dragon-Nip, it made any dragon drop like a fly. _

_I arranged my body to land directly on his neck; my feet made to stand in perfect balance without slipping or falling off. _

_While the nightmare looked for me, I lifted the needle and stopped; the dragon didn't do anything, he just stood there looking at me as I held the syringe above my head. _

_I felt my grip loosen on the needle and hear its metallic clang onto the soil and gravel. _

_The nightmare crooned at me softly as I jumped down from his neck carefully landing in a crouch._

_I turned to him in an upright position, staring him down with my soft dragon eyes-well, as soft as a draki's eyes can get- and I felt my hand move._

_It reached out to the dragon, now calmer than when he was fighting me, and he pressed his rough, scaly nose into my palm._

_I stood motionless, my breathing, the blood rushing through my body, and my thundering heartbeat being the only sound in the yard. Even Spectrum stared at me like I'd grown two heads. _

_Suddenly, another sound broke the silence; Tia was clapping slowly and proudly._

_I didn't speak; I was too awestruck to do anything. I just looked into the nightmare's eyes and he nodded once before backing away from my hand. As if he knew me, as if we were old friends just fooling around playing a game. _

_Tia spoke for me, _

_"__Babydoll, you're ready."_


	32. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29: Understanding one Another**

_My heart was going faster than a bullet in my chest. _

_This was it._

_My final test._

_My final challenge before becoming who I was meant to be._

_My chance to finally become a draki. _

_"__Clarisse," Amber's voice sounded from behind me. _

_I turned to face my friend; her hair was pulled back into a bun and her clothes normal and un-jazzy like they usually were. This probably being because she wasn't performing tonight. This made things terrifying for me; she wasn't performing…_

_But I was._

_And I was scared out of my mind._

_Amber smiled at me, "Ten minutes Babydoll." _

_And with that my amber-haired friend closed the door to my room after throwing me an encouraging smile._

_I turned back to my mirror; I looked nothing like myself; _

_My purple curls had been dyed red and my face was painted with a layer of makeup. Red and gold shadowed my eyes with coal-black lining them, with a light pink blush on my cheeks and my lips painted crimson._

_Come on. You've got this. _

_It's just like Tia says; don't think, just let go. _

_I looked into my own eyes; those sharp green orbs staring back at me from my own reflection. They seemed like the green trees in the barren desert where nothing grows, made special by the two only signs of life that refused to wither and die. _

_I held onto that thought as I shed my robe and saw my plain black dress in the reflective glass. _

_I have to say Tia really screwed me over on this one; the dress I picked was nothing like this one._

_The dress I was currently wearing was a plain shade of black, with a shredded-style skirt and a silver ribbon belt. It was more like a simple formal dinner-party dress than a flashy, sparkly dance outfit. _

_I stepped hesitantly towards my door as I blew my bangs out of my face. _

_I took in a breath of oxygen, savoring the cool feeling it brought to my flaming throat. This being because when I get nervous or afraid my throat dries out and flares up; ironically it feels like fire pooling up in my throat, like I'm breathing out actual flames. _

_Really..._

_I sighed at the thought of me breathing fire and just opened the door and walked through the halls with my shoes in hand and Spectrum right on my tail. Figuratively speaking of course._

_I finally arrived backstage, not realizing I had sprinted the whole way and a thin line of sweat was forming on my brow. Everyone was in a tornado of preparations; girls squeezed into corsets and high-heels, Tia made sure everyone knew what to do and when to do it, and I even saw Kana and Scarlett messing with what looked like fire-juggler's batons. _

_It was all a lot to take in, to be frank._

_I mean it's not every day you walk out onto a stage as the last of a special breed of dragon/human hybrid to dance with fire, kicks, and flips and make yourself look like you're fighting something invisible._

_That was basically my entire performance in a nutshell._

_I didn't bother to peek out of the large curtain blocking everyone's view of the other girls getting ready; I already knew that there were tons of people here to see the show._

_Tia and Blue had set up posters all over town: come see the newest addition to the Paradise Theater! This Little Babydoll!_

_Albeit it got people's attention, even thought I thought they were a bit overshot. _

_Anyhow, Tia was wearing one of her evening gowns; it was black and covered splint to spleen in glitter and sparkles, full-length with a knee-high split on the left side showing off her left leg, with her hair pulled into a bun and a choker dawning her pale neck._

_Now _she_really looked like a night-club owner._

_Well, co-night-club owner._

_Along with Blue._

_I'm getting side-tracked. Again._

_Tia spotted me mucking about and stalked over to me in all my plain glory._

_"__Are you ready darling?" she asked me. _

_I gave one firm nod to tell her my answer. I was ready. I can do this. I _will _do this._

_"__Yah, but why is the dress so heavy?" I asked her as I strapped on my red high-heel Mary-Jane shoes. (The only color besides my hair on this stupid heavy outfit.)_

_Tia fluffed out a shredded part of my skirt, "Trust me; it will become lighter in the midst of the show, just like we practiced." I nodded and she gave me an encouraging hug._

_"__I find that hugs help with most stress." She added with a small bubbly giggle. I gave a chuckle in return,_

_"__Thanks Tia, for everything." My aunt smiled at me, her crimson lips stretching out across the length of her porcelain face. _

_"__You have nothing to thank me for. You did everything on your own. I just added the much-needed encouragement so… I guess you can thank me for everything after all!" she giggled again in her thick Russian accent. _

_I rolled my eyes and smirked at her, I knew she was just poking fun._

_"__Alright Clarisse, show time." Said Blue as he came up to Tia and me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders and herded me to the curtain. _

_I caught a glimpse of the awaiting crowd of people; men and women of all ages gathered in the booths and at the tables, ready to see the show._

_Only one thing infecting my courage with fear…_

_I _was _the show!_

_I hated that I was afraid. I knew what I was doing and I wanted to do it. Like Reyna said to me 'I couldn't just back out now.'_

_In a fraction of a second, my vision sharpened, then returned to normal and I knew I'd shown my dragon eyes._

_Good._

_I wanted the dragon in me to show itself tonight._

_Tia parted the curtains down the middle and stepped into the crowds view on stage, me still hidden from their eyes._

_"__Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a very special show for you tonight,"_

_I took a deep breath…_

_"__It is a new addition so I apologize in advance for the aggressive nature of the performance, but do not fear… that is part of the charm."_

_I took my spot in front of the curtain, waiting for Tia to wrap up her little speech._

_"__It is my great pleasure that I introduce to you… Clarisse, this Little Babydoll."_

_And with that Tia sauntered off stage and the heavy red curtain parted, shinning bright firelight in my eyes. I quickly blinked it back and stood waiting for Tia to play the music. _

_It started off a low steady rhythm, moving me like a wave of energy causing me to begin to sway. _

_My eyes closed mindlessly, my mind easing itself into oblivion as the music motivated my every move._

_And I one snap of a second, my eyes flew open, pupils thinned into vertical lines dividing my green orbs in half, and a devilish smirk graced my crimson lips._

_I threw a crescent punch at the air and lifted my leg in a high kick to my lifted fingers, the crowd slightly taken aback by my sudden flurry of movement._

_My legs moved together into a double kick, then into an aerial split kick. I landed in a crouch, back-somersaulting two times before landing upright in my fighting stance. _

_I threw two tough punches at my imaginary attackers along with a crescent kick along with a left round-house and a twist-kick at my attacker's head._

_I dove into another summersault, flipping three times and once backwards, landing with my arms posed in a punch wind-up and my shoes surprisingly still intact on my feet._

_My dress was really starting to bug me; it was weighing me down and making this fight-dance really difficult._

_Time to change that._

_I spun into a no-armed cartwheel, my hands heating up with energy and bursting with an explosion of bright red fire, spreading to my black dress and engulfing me entirely. _

_Someone in the crowd screamed but I ignored them, even though I might take the time to freak out about this later; I mean, I was literally _on fire!

_My black dress fell away along with my black shoes that became a crumbling pile on the floor, my skirt seemed to have lengthened and my feet were now bare, along with a section of my midriff. _

_I heard the jingle of gold coins on my waist and chest, figuring out that my original dress choice had become visible. I felt so much lighter and quicker than when I was wearing the black piece of clothing. And with that in mind, I continued._

_The only thing different about my aggressive dance display was that my hands and feet were still lighted with my fire, leaving a trail of flames whenever I moved._

_I cart wheeled to the right, spinning into another backwards somersault and throwing my legs back to give in a more fiery effect. Well, more than it already had._

_My imaginary attacker threw a hammer-kick at my head, but I spun and grabbed his leg mid-kick, pushing him down with my strength and pinning him with my foot. I took hold of his knee and ankle and yanked both in opposite directions, getting a satisfied smirk when I heard the nonexistent crack of bone and scream of pain._

_For good measure I punched the guy in the groin, him scrunching up in pain and disappearing back into my mind. _

_The last attackers charged me, but I crescent-kicked him to the ground and threw a full-circled swinging-arm into the last one. He hit the floor in a full scorpion, vanishing along with the others I had beaten._

_I now realized I had no other opponents to fight. I eased out of my fighting stance and my dragons eyes softened, turning back to the crowd._

_I was out of breath and all I could hear was my own breathing echoing throughout the room._

_I gave a small yelp of panic when I noticed my hands and feet were still on fire, so I shook them until the wind put them out, hoping the audience didn't notice._

_Apparently they didn't give a shrieking gull about it because they erupted in cheers and claps and very loud applause, it was ringing in my ears and actually made me jump slightly. A smile stretched onto my face as they cheered for me, sweat dripping down my face and the coins on my dress still jingling slightly._

_I probably didn't snap out of my shocked daze until the darkness of the closed curtain cloaked my figure again, the echo of the applause still ringing throughout the theater._

_I puffed out my cheeks and laughed breathlessly as Kana ran up to me with a ridiculously proud smile on her face, Amber, Reyna and Scarlett following at her heels._

_"__What the heck was that?!" she asked excitedly. I laughed again as my raven-haired, purple-streaked friend wrapped me in a congratulatory hug. _

_Obviously I had ignored the moves Tia and I had rehearsed and my dragon-side went solely on instinct and will. _

_Tia stood not so far off wither hand over her heart and her other hand on her hip, her painted lips curved into a prideful and knowing smirk._

_"__That wasn't what we practiced at all." Reyna added, a bit more strictly than her baby sister. _

_I puffed out my cheeks again, "I know, I have no idea how I did that-"_

_"__I know how you did," Tia cut in as she sauntered up to us. "Your dragon side has finally surfaced full-force!"_

_"__Which means… what?" Amber asked mindlessly. _

_"__It means that if Clarisse keeps training the way she is, she'll be full-on badass draki in no time." Reyna said with a smug grin, her hip cocked to the side and her arms crossed across her chest._

_Blue suddenly appeared behind me a scooped me up in an ecstatic embrace, "You did it!" he practically squealed in delight._

_"__Blue! Put me down!" I squeaked in surprise as I broke into a fit of shocked giggles as my uncle spun me around like a happy little boy would to his new puppy. _

_My favorite- and only –uncle did as asked and set me down in a giggling mass of crimson-dyed curls and gold jingle-coins._

_"__Why are you so happy?!" I choked out in between laughs. Blue stopped smiling for a moment and furrowed his eyebrows at me like I was a crazy person._

_"__Are you kidding me?" he asked in a joking manner. "That was your first time on stage! I know how scary that can be, but you punched through it, literally, with flying colors!" Blue praised as he ruffled my hair. I playfully pushed him away, before I was bombarded by a mass of sea-green scales._

_Spectrum had come charging into the theater from the back-room. He ducked his head down, and ran into me lifting me up with his massive head. I laughed in surprise when he set me down, ran to my other side with his tail swishing back and forth rapidly like a cat's would when it's excited, and licked the left side of my face._

_I giggled again and rubbed his snout,_

_"__Thanks boy." I told him in my sisterly attitude towards my Dragon Brother. __He creaked and croaked in reply towards me, as if to say 'you're welcome you silly mound of red and gold.' _

_Blue chuckled at our sibling antics, but then a look of remembrance crossed his eye. "Oh! Before I forget, Clarisse, this came for you today." He explained as he dug a ratty and withered envelope from his shirt pocket and handed it to me._

_I eyes it curiously in my hands, but shrugged and tore it open, reading the sheet of parchment tucked inside._

_"__What does it say?" Kana asked as she and my friends leaned over me to peek at the letter. _

_I rolled my eyes, "It says that Kana should stop breathing on my neck." I told her, my voice laced with sarcasm. Truth be told I had yet to read the words, which I was doing right now._

_My eyes widened. "My dad wants me to join the crew of the Nightmare Moon in one year!" I rushed out of my mouth in a flurry of excitement. _

_"__That's great!" Amber squealed as I threw my arms around Spectrum's neck._

_"__Yah, in one year your dragon will finally stop messing up my beautiful face." Scarlett huffed with a flip of her hair. I rolled my eyes, too dang giddy to give a shrieking gull about Scar's complaining._

_Tia draped her arms over my shoulders, "This is great news, which means we have an entire year to complete your training." She told me with a sly grin._

_My shoulders drooped at the thought of more intense draki training and whatever. _

_Tia laughed, "Don't worry, the worst of it is over…" her voice trailed off, and making me feel like she wasn't finished._

_"__But?" I pried on._

_Tia winced slightly, "But I'm afraid your training has only just begun." She said in a grim tone._

_I have no idea why, but I felt a surge of confidence at the idea of my future self being a bad-ass, kick-ass, draki girl._

_I exchanged a look with Spectrum, his sea-green eyes burning in the intense fire of my jade ones._

_He nodded once as if to tell me what I should do. I returned the nod and looked back at my crimson-haired aunt with my pupils slit and a smirk curled on my lips._

_"__How wonderful." I said more deviously than I should have._

_In the year that followed I gained a scary amount of reckless confidence, a new attitude fell fitted to a pirate/dragon girl, I cut my hair and I also gained some new weaponry. My personal favorite being a Japanese katana my dad gave to me when I was a kid, I never got to use it until then, but I clung to the thing like a terrible terror clings to a fish during a frenzy. _

_And you know why?_

_It's who I am._

_Most people I know are pirates or dancers, me?_

_I'm a dragon._

Hiccup blinked multiple times to clear his head. Wow, that felt like forever, he thought.

He looked up at the sky, the sun hadn't moved very much so that must have taken a couple hours at most. That whole thing took only like two hours?!

It felt like days.

Weeks!

And it only took two hours.

"Whoa, my head." Hiccup snapped out of his confused daze at the sound of his sister's voice. He looked at Clarisse to see her eyes squeezed shut and rubbing her temples with her fingers, now free of any paint. Not like the girl he'd seen in his mind, with the purple curls and the painted nails.

Hiccup got his voice back already, "You okay?" he asked his twin. She flinched slightly at the sound of another person and opened her eyes, having to look up slightly after noticing his height again.

"Oh, you got taller." She said groggily. Hiccup couldn't help but chuckle a little bit; he'd seen her memories, but hadn't seen any of his own, so Clarisse must have seen all of them. And as you probably already know, he wasn't exactly this height when he was fifteen.

Anyhow, his own head was throbbing the slightest and his throat felt dry and his stomach rumbled a little, it felt like Hiccup had been physically deprived all day. Yet in reality it was only two freaking hours.

"And you got sassier." He shot back at Clarisse. She let out a mocking laugh, not fazed by her twin's sarcastic comment. She should know him well enough by now to expect it. He rolled his eyes as Clarisse cackled like a madman for a good two minutes.

"Okay, that laugh is defiantly fake." Hiccup sighed.

Clarisse laughed one more time, "It's real!"

She quieted down after another good ten seconds and puffed out her cheeks like Hiccup always did. The hazel-haired girl sat down on one of the garden benches and exhaled deeply.

Hiccup followed suit and took a seat next to her; they sat in silence for a while before he decided to start a conversation,

"So, you were a dragon wallflower." He joked with a smirk.

Clarisse turned to him with a glare/jovial look, "And you were a scrawny fishbone." She shot back.

"Never heard that one before." He replied, his voice etched in sarcasm. Clarisse laughed again, thinking to herself.

She and her twin had their infinite number of differences; she was sort of a crazy adrenaline-junky who hated following other people's rules and almost always talked with an attitude.

Clarisse, the slightly insane dragon-girl who was always playing a game, but never played fair.

Hiccup however was a nervous stutterer most of the time with a good heart and an almost perfect no-kill record, with a kind face and soft green eyes that would make any girl besides herself, Ruff, and Blondie-who he'd already won- melt.

And Hiccup was the kind-hearted Viking boy with a spirit more strong and more fierce than any dragon she'd ever met.

But now that she knew what life had been like for him, she now knew that they had more in common than she would have guessed.

They'd both been sort of social hermits, they'd both been afraid to adapt and decided to go their own ways, and they'd both gotten little pushes from their loved ones to take a path and later find out who they are and who they were both meant to be.

I guess that's why they got along so well, they had similarities as well as differences.

She was the half-dragon Gypsy. (she didn't feel right to call herself a pirate anymore.)

He was the dragon-training Viking.

They balanced each-other out.

And with this thought she chuckled slightly at her new 'sibling-bonding' experience for them both.

"What?" Hiccup asked her, breaking her train of thought.

She looked at him with that devilish smirk he'd grown so used to. She said nothing as she grabbed his hand and dragged him away, Spectrum and Toothless waking from their naps and following close behind.

"Uh, where are we going?" he asked, growing slightly fearful of what his twin was planning.

"I, Hiccup, am going to teach you how to shoot." She said simply.

She stopped in a quieter, more private part of the garden, Hiccup's eyes growing wider than the moon at her statement.

Hiccup using a gun.

Thor help us all.


End file.
